Chaos Hymn: A Guardian's Plea
by Quentix Starwing
Summary: An interesting tale about everyone's favorite Echidna-girl Tikal, she doesn't normally have a plot or anything to do in the sonic realm, well all that's changing now as she faces her greatest challenge yet; with the help of old allies. Finally Chap 6 up!
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own Sonic the Hedgehog or any of the characters that are owned by Sega, Archie, Fleetway, etc. I'll be using a few from each, so don't get mad! However I do have a right to my own created characters that will appear throughout this story as it unfolds, so if you'd like to use them; please just ask =P, I'm not mean and I am likely to say yes. But of course, we're now past this phase.

A/N: Readers who have enjoyed many stories of mine up to this point, welcome as it is going to be yet another wonderful adventure that will unfold before us now; this story will bring a new understanding to the world with which Mobius functions, this tale is going to tie Anti-Mobius characters in as much as unusual characters from both Archie, Fleetway and otherwise, I'm going to be reaching into the depths of numerous characters to make this story another banging success (or so I hope to.)

And without further adieu! Here we go!!

(End A/N)

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The Chaos Hymn: A Guardian's Plea

"_While the Chaos Guardian sleeps, the Lords of Order awaken, and the Peaceful Soul must rise to bring true order to these Lords who profess sublime order at the cost of freedom." –Makius, First Order Soul _

Prologue: Eternal Sleep? Tikal's Awakening

What was true rest for a soul of peace, her life ended short…was this truly fair to her? As she slept alongside Chaos, the Guardian of the Chao her mind wandered. Was it ever considered that she gave her life selflessly over and gained nothing in return..? The question was one she first thought herself selfish for asking, she'd tell herself that she was wrong to ask such a thing; it was a necessary thing so that she might calm the powerful Chaos and save her people's honor, giving the remaining few Echidnas and the world a chance to live.

But lately her spirit had been restless for reasons she wasn't too sure of, what was making things so strange for her and why hadn't she been able to return to sleep? She was bothered by the fact her spirit was wishing for freedom, such a thing was unlike her normal behavior; ever since that premature awakening those few years ago…the first disturbance of Chaos that freed her from rest.

It was a time that she actually enjoyed being free, she was able to move and breathe the air…only briefly; since she knew her mission and reason for awakening was for the greater good…yes the world's greater good before her own once again. She took her time, re-appearing before her descendant Knuckles and instructing him where to find help, what he must do…and so this help continued, she aided Sonic, Tails, and Amy Rose along the paths that were their own to follow.

And in the end was she successful, Tikal had managed to return peace to the land, Chaos's soul was no longer troubled and seeking revenge for wrongs long ago committed; she returned him to peace and to rest. Once more she took the raging spirit back to resting within the Master Emerald. What more could she do? She had passed through her life briefly, it was prematurely ended by her father's greed and to that she was compassionate, she bore her father no malice despite what he'd done. She cared not his reason and the only thing that she told herself was that her father had his reasons and though they weren't wrong, he did proceed the wrong way.

Tikal's world was about to change, as she heard such strange words being whispered; her mind clearly active within the Master Emerald, her consciousness reacted with a pulse of light from within the crystal.

_"Awaken Sleepless Child, come back to the world and be free." _The oddly cloaked male released her resting spirit from the powerful and near fathomless emerald of both mass and power.

Within moments, the Master Emerald's bright glowing form release a soft ball of light, which morphed in its shape and took the form of an aged Echidna, it became very clear that this person knew exactly what he was doing; he aged her…maybe 3 years in her age, by her appearance he seemed to approve of it.

"W-What…what am I doing here? What is this?" she was startled by finding her vision blurry, her body was weak; for the first time in what felt like nearly an eternity to her, she was now freed from the Master Emerald…only now Chaos had nothing to do with her current standing of freedom.

"I have awakened you, peaceful soul of the Chaos. You're a bystander in all of this and now you must do as I ask, for only you can stop the Lords of Order." His voice made it clear that he was pleading with her, more than demanding anything of her action.

"W-What..? Me? Why Me? What can-?" she was cut short by her coughing and her trying to get used to breathing oxygen for the first time in a very long time; her body seemed to be in perfect shape, but she was still very much out of tune with her senses and her surroundings; remembering to live was nothing easy.

The stranger helped her rise by helping her up, taking her arm and drawing her to her feet, while chanting some soft words once more; he helped her grow used to breathing and rid her body of the numbness so she could stand straight.

"Because, you are one of peace and that places you above all else in this world that stands, even your fellow Echidna here do not know much of Peace. As much as he might try, the current world forces him to fight the forces of darkness; he protects the Master Emerald…but this will no longer suffice with the Lords of Order." The male speaking again obviously knew this well.

"So what is it that I can do? You want me to guide the Guardian Knuckles to a more peaceful way of resolving this trouble that lies ahead? I can do-" she saw him shaking his head and stopped speaking, giving him a look of confusion.

"I know it's hard to believe that you are being called upon by the fates to do such a thing, but you don't have a choice in this my dear; I am very sorry to inform you that your friends mentioned, any heroes that exist now can only aid you, while you head this mission up head on. Those heroes like Sonic the Hedgehog, Tails Prower, Shadow the Hedgehog, Rouge the Bat, Sally Acorn, and the many heroes that protect this world from danger; they cannot understand what it is that must be done. It is beyond strategy and fighting, these claims to 'fight for peace' are still violence being committed for the wrong reasons. To stop one mortal from harming another, by harming them…will solve nothing and creates this loop; it creates a single hope that exists onward in this world." The male laid the facts down straight before her, this was something that was her burden to take and there wasn't much that she could do to avoid it.

"So…you want me to reason with these…Lords of Order?" Tikal was trying to understand what he wanted of her, what was he commanding her to do?

"You wish to reason, as in trying to reach a compromise? That is impossible with a Lord of Order, you will have to fight…yes but a very peaceful way; it is strange to hear from me…but you will understand as time goes on; when you discover your special place in all of this. Time has realized you've done nothing but sleep for long periods of time, it has released you now…but this will not come without some burden; much like the current heroes of this world live day to day by struggling against the wrongs that are committed by others. I cannot tell you much more about this battle ahead of you, I can only say…you must find the right amount of both, with both peace and fighting…both have a place in this world; but not to a Lord of Order." He gave her shoulder a gentle pat while looking at her face.

"I do feel bad for you child, but I am only a messenger and a guide as you were once so often in the past. What you can do now is hear the tale I will impart you with before I leave for the time being now." The male was just going to tell her this last set of things before departing.

She looked at him with a light sigh since she really wasn't being given a choice in this point, all she could do was to try and understand the story and think about what she might be able to do at this point, in the outcome she was hoping to find some kind of solution; time freed her? That amazed her and frightened her at the same time…this wasn't her time or her place in existence, she was going to have to try and live on her own? It seemed to be the thing she'd yet to understand really, though she knew she was going to have to deal with it.

"The story is short and simple my dear, for as long as the forces of Chaos have existed, so have the forces of Order also existed at the same point. The forces of Chaos manifest themselves in crystalline form and are neutral existing powers that exist in their own right of immensity; such devastating power that is wielded and in its own right never ending…that in itself is reason enough for them to be considered dangerous. The Lords of Order exist in the same number as the emeralds, there are Seven Lords of Order; they are too considered immortal and unstoppable in their own right, only warriors of Chaos may hope to battle with them in any hope of defeating them. But you are the guiding Soul of Chaos, this is where the Lords of Hope have no chance in such a department…they have no guiding soul; only their arrogance and this is what you must do…you are the acting leader and also, the truest power when chaos energy is on call." He turned from her and went on his way, this was where he was supposed to leave.

"I-Is…that all? How can I remember it?" she looked at him, hoping for some kind of an answer…maybe he'd stay and write it down for her or give her a clue?

He looked to her and smiled once at that point.

"Whenever you need to explain this, it will come to you in that time of need; this member and tale is going to help you and remain with you as long as you need this." The male's voice once more being soft and gentle, he really hoped to give her greater help than he had been within the moments given.

"Another light will come from above, this light will be your companion; the one you will save and the one who will stand by you, your guardian soul is not of Chaos, but will be inducted in by you." He said again, though he felt a pulse of pain shoot through him.

He grunted and hunched over while holding his side while he looked at her, starting to take his leave. He knew that he gave her more information that she had within her mind now, it was the last of what he had to say; it was all that he could hope would make its final point.

"I-I have said too much up to this point, you know what you must know now, you can do what you shall and make peace come to this place." He said as he walked into a dark mist and soon disappeared after speaking the one last time.

Tikal was silent as she looked on at the stranger's area, she had never seen his face but had sensed peace from him; she sensed what it was that seemed to be so calm…but she couldn't place what he was or why he came to warn her. He set things in motion, she knew that he had some great powers to be able to free her soul from the Master Emerald by that point.

"Thank you kind sir…" she said after he'd long left, while she sighed gently and looked at herself, her clothing was new and fit her snugly while keeping her modest; she was dressed in her white tanktop-style garb covered by the golden necklace which bore her Grandmother's sacred stone in the center, her tiara now stood taller and was closer to a small crown bearing the elliptical sapphire in the center, which was now accompanied by a small elliptical ruby and elliptical citrine on the other end of her tiara. Even her dress now had gained a frilly edge and appeared to be changed along with her growth; she had lost the tail-end of her dress and though it hadn't bothered her…she wondered what all of this meant?

This mysterious male had freed her from sleep and disclosed to her some kind of a sacred duty of a mission, something that she was being called in to do; what did this mean for her and who was this…'other light' that was mentioned? This person would be a guardian spirit for her, so she departed from the Master Emerald shrine, absolutely adamant about finding this person first…maybe he or she knew what was going on?

(End Prologue)

Welcome to the story, this tale is only just beginning as you saw, I will soon write and release the first chapter; stay tuned for this glorious adventure about the sadly undermined Echidna girl, Tikal!

Till then I bid you adieu

-Quentix


	2. Chapter: Guardian Soul, Tikal's Destiny

A/N: As Promised I will be presenting you with the first chapter of Tikal's new adventure story, you will be meeting more characters you recognize without a doubt and obviously, my characters are wrapped up in this thing too =P, so prepare to enjoy yourself. As Tikal gets off of the bench finally and takes fate into her own hands, which it seems she has no choice but to do. And one more note, don't mind my switching off between things like 'loincloth' or 'warriorcloth', it's what you might expect of a male native that lives in warm climate.

Something like Native Americans would wear in the Great Plains (like Sioux for instance) or Egyptian style crossed up, that's to give you a visual, either way

Without further adieu, may this Epic Tale continue! =O

(End A/N)

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Chapter I: Guardian soul, Tikal's Destiny

Tikal was desperate to know more of her situation, while she'd avoided seeing Knuckles as of yet, due to the fact she wasn't sure of why she'd returned to this plane still, it had yet to come forth in a reason that she could accept; it was due to this fact that she kept herself hidden. She wouldn't let the situation spill onto the shoulders of her old friends; rather she was going to face it with this…stranger that she felt was coming soon; after that strange male had revealed to her of her guardian, she felt a glowing energy in the distance.

It was something very warm and strange; it felt like it had a lot to offer to her, maybe understanding? It was what she wanted most of all right now, just to understand what she was facing in this world. These Lords of Order weren't going to be giving her anytime, the way the male spoke of it; she wouldn't have any choice but to go forward and seek out the heroes for this battle, she was going to have to find them and bring them all to the light of the situation.

"I'll be back Knuckles, I promise." She whispered gently upon the wind before she dived off of the island's side, her dreads spreading out and catching the wind beneath them; the ever obviously ability to glide was something that came to all Echidna who had been embraced as a guardian; she was a past Master Emerald Guardian?

This was no mystery, she had protected the Chao and the Master Emerald, even if it wasn't very successfully; she claimed that birth right and now she'd see the more potent rights gained by that position. As she glided over the beautiful ocean of blue beneath her; she had nothing in her heart but peace as she noticed the beautiful waves carrying on forward.

"Ever changing Ocean, do you know my future? Do you know where I can find this guardian is?" her words were of the mystic cry to these forces of nature, hoping to rouse them to grant her wish…this need to know her savior's future location.

This was the power of the Soul of Chaos…something she knew by instinct, due to her unity with nature and the attachment to chaos force, she could clearly speak and request things of the surrounding nature; though of course it would only come true if that source of nature had the means to answer her request and this was luckily the case for her with the ocean.

Before her eyes in the water below her as she glided, a fresh image of a strange tan/golden furred being, she couldn't clearly see him due to the Mantle that he was wearing; the Mantle's center bearing a bizarre set of marking that she couldn't recognize on it. This was her guardian? She blinked slightly at the thoughts of it, clearly this male was lost; she saw that forlorn look in his eyes…did something happen?

She was immediately worried that he might try something desperate and that nothing would be clear if anything bad happened; it was just her normal nature to worry that led her to seek this male out faster.

"Thank you Oceans, I know that location…yes very well." She did know it quite well, this male had landed at the base of the Cliffside of the old Echidna civilization, she noticed the rigid beach that he'd been walking on and knew it immediately.

She wasn't going to ask how he got there, since the male said 'light from above', she was defining it as either a traveler of a great distance or someone from another planet in that right. It wouldn't have surprised her, since chaos force crossed many dimensions and this great guiding that seemed possible through it would have carried him this far.

She turned towards the direction of the land, she wasn't that far away and she was pretty sure that she could gather him and his attentions quickly if she was fast enough to reach him before he got lost. So with this in mind she hurried off quickly.

---At the Cliff's side---

He'd already begun to scale the cliffs with surprising success, despite not having any serious claws that would let him grip the stone that he was scaling, he instead used his dark obsidian claws; which he retracted from their points in order to pierce the rock. He was surprised at how gentle this stone was despite its looks, he thought well of his good fortune on his way up, making sure that his Mantle was not drifting off or falling loose; that was going to be the last thing that he wanted or needed.

"This land is strange…but that power at least seems familiar; what is it that I sense..? Something is coming this way." He said as he scaled the cliff, undoubtedly sensing some being that possessed the same power that drew him to this world.

He couldn't quite place this power in the same category however, it was serene and at peace as far as he could sense; he found nothing threatening about that and smiled as he continued on his way up.

"Well this is more good fortune, to have someone coming who doesn't mean me harm…I feared this planet and such an energy would be full of malevolent forces that might try something with me; but it seems that luck has sided with me this day; thank be to the stars for that." He said this while finally reaching the top.

He had a good brisk climb and found himself rolling onto the cliff once he had made some headway at getting his body over without any struggle; it was all that he was seeking to do now, make some kind of decent way onto the land without losing his Mantle in the process. He muttered slightly now, this was one thing that bothered him; was his misfortune of only owning a Mantle that was much bigger than his body, he was no doubt modest since he was trying so hard not to let even the nature see his bare body.

"The elements here are rather perverted aren't they? Blowing up one's Mantle and trying hard to part it; well this land will not have such fortune yet." He said with a light sigh, that would probably make it known that he had pretty strange mannerisms, likely this from the culture of his people.

No doubt his people were very modest right? Well that would be a mystery to those who had no clue, it wasn't his fault that his people brought out such rigid qualities right? Well he doubted it would be an issue on this planet; especially the way that he saw viewed while on his way down dressed in clothing, and though some were less clad in attire he was not…opposed to the views seen from the sky.

"I wonder how these people of this world are about manners, I hope it is something widely spread." His hope was that they might be civil, he would do his best to fit in at the way of things unfolded and all he could hope is that they came out clean.

His visitor was soon with him, his eyes watched this strange being soaring over the skies, and this…this target hit him rather fiercely, not in a physical or antagonistic way; but more that her visage was recognized in his mind, this jogged a memory.

'_And from the heavens, your charge will descend to you; she will embrace your companionship and you will protect her'_ despite the fact the message was limited to just that, he knew that it was drilled into his mind and something about that moment made this wish to protect this stranger something that he instinctually would do without a thought.

As she came in to land before him, he knew soon that things would be clear; or at least that was the hope on the moment. All thoughts were put to rest as she approached him, only their interaction would give him the answers that he no doubt was craving right now…no that he needed to understand.

---With Tikal---

As she landed she looked at the stranger as she landed, her eyes looking over his carefully dressed Mantles, she noted that he seemed to be one covering himself up very carefully and was obviously keeping his body out of the general view; this made it clear to her that he was trying to keep some level of modesty; especially since she noticed he was blushing a little bit already, was he so modest? It struck her as rather strange.

"Hello stranger." She said politely, hoping to rouse some speech, well she wasn't sure if he knew what a 'mister' was, since it wasn't exactly common for strange beings from other places to necessarily know the language right away; she was checking on that , to see if their people shared a common tongue.

She watched his eyes glow a moment and this made her blink, since she wasn't used to such common things; his eyes glowed a gentle amber for a moment…it was a pretty color to see reflected in metallic-tone irises like his. It was at least something she could admire, the strange but definitely pretty tone of color in his eyes at the moment.

"Hello Miss, I am not from this magnificent land that you call 'Mobius', I am as you called a stranger to this world…but something much bigger than that has called me here." He said to her in response.

He took in the understanding of the language by locking eyes with her a minute, his people had a quick specialty; this was an ability that let him keep up with any planet that he came across and the indigenous people on the world. He imagined that the ability would make him blend in easier, especially if he didn't go around freely telling those here that he was from another world, his mind was simply admonishing him on his actions.

There was an odd moment of silence between the two of them in that next minute, it wasn't going to be too bad in the whole; all he needed to do was relax and focus on what he was supposedly doing right now, he felt himself tense around this being; she felt powerful in a right compared to himself right now.

"Are you…the falling star?" she was asking him if he was the source that was falling from the heavens, the vision that she had been given back at the ocean when she was leaving Angel Island; she hoped this wasn't one of the Lords of Order…though he was rather kind during this short dialogue they were having already.

Well it seemed she hit the proverbial nail on the head, since the look on his face suggested she was right, it was one of him being somewhat stunned; no doubt she hit his mythical title on the noggin as he slowly nodded.

'_She knew my title so simply, she must be the one; there's no question.'_ His mind seemed to be confirming what every fiber in his being was telling him straight on now; this made more than enough sense, she had to be the one that he was supposed to not only contact but also supposed to protect her the whole time while he was here.

"You are she who will take my companionship; you must be the guardian soul of chaos. I am your protector, Sesumi Anu Kr'uk the champion of the Hyperstones and survivor of Coron." He was stating it as if he were the last one of his people, wearing such a title that was similar to Knuckles of the Echidna guardians.

She had found her falling star and quickly, and the way he introduced himself was rather…official, wait a second, did he say Hyperstones? What were the Hyperstones? She hadn't heard of any such stones or crystals; though she did feel the immense power that was radiating from the force of this male's aura, she just saw nothing that verified he had some kind of stones with him.

"If I may ask, what are the Hyperstones?" she looked to him for the answer, obviously he was going to be the one who had those answers.

He gave her a nod and drew down the collar of his Mantles, only slightly showing his chest off and drawing out the Neck-binding Crest of Hyperstones along his neck, it became very clear that the Seven Heptagon stones were these sacred Hyperstones being mentioned.

"These are the Seven Hyperstones, the sacred crests of my people and our planet as it once existed; these like your Seven Chaos Emeralds are the avatars of might on your world here. I have bared the seven here in result of the stones choosing to imbue their powers upon me; as a result I will be able to do many things that I imagine will be considered god-like on your world. Though my powers are…you might say differ in nature overall; I have seen your chaos powers active and I am highly impressed, the powers are different." His miniature speech was over when he visibly flinched, drawing her attention.

"Are you okay?" Tikal frowned, wondering what made him flinch the way he had, since it looked pretty painful for him.

He gave a soft smile; she really was caring wasn't she? Her aura certainly hadn't hid anything from him; she was just as caring as she seemed to be and he'd noticed that; it made him smile at her sweetness.

"Yes, I am fine the Hyperstones are just jealous of my praising the Chaos Emeralds." He gave her a small smile, nodding to her confused look so she might understand it a little better.

"The Hyperstones are more conscious than those of the Chaos Emeralds; in fact they are very lively and interact with each person just as one person normally would, they have egos and much prefer that I depend upon them." He said as he patted the top of the crest, so that the stones would calm down instead of acting up; he felt there was no need to make it last longer than it needed to.

She had a few more questions in between and got around to asking him as the moment went on; she was of course just trying to get their next destination down. She explained to him the tale of the Lords of Order and that he was her guardian, she was glad that he understood it as well as he did. But was more stunned that he might agreed without any question in her actions.

She found his view of her to be unusual, since they'd only just met now and he was already agreeing with her as if he were her best friend or advisor who didn't find anything wrong with her actions and those directions took. She had no choice but to go on with her plans, though she found him a little peculiar that way. She wasn't used to leadership and yet now even her guardian was going through these actions such as agreeing with her and not questioning it. So what was she to do? Tikal knew that she'd have to come up with the set of plans ahead of them, she was going to try and let the world just guide her as she went on; this was for the better of the people in the world and this was going to soon help the unfolding balance for each and every single individual on this planet; no matter who it was and that included old enemies, new friends, and those never met.

"So Sesumi, you understand that we've got a lot of traveling around to do? We will have to acquire the Chaos Emeralds and bring them back to Angel Island, we're going to need their power to bring focus to the Master Emerald; if these Lords of Order are anything like that strange male told me of; then we will certainly need their power to fight these beings on a fair ground." She hoped this wasn't the case but it didn't hurt to have the back-up plan.

She honestly didn't want to depend on the super form, but after what that male told her she was at least willing to consider it a last resort; this was going to be something that would require every single hero they've had up to point, the next thing to do was to make two things her key goals: Gathering as many of the heroes that had helped save Mobius both once and many times; it didn't matter who since this threat now was going to be a necessary thing to respond to.

"I have heard of your 'Sonic the Hedgehog', his exploits of heroism and amazing bravery were a leading example for the youth of Coron and even helped me take my place as Champion. I doubt he chose to become the Hero of Mobius that he was as a child, not like my destiny as a Champion of the Hyperstones. But I will not let this slow me down or stop what must be done, Tikal I will not fail you…no matter what the cost; you will be safe as long as I draw breath." He knew he was sounding so direct and even over serious with his comments.

She put a hand on his shoulder and nodded gently, she did know that he was going to protect her and she was counting on that.

"Okay Sesumi, but please…don't make it sound like you're alone in what you do; I am here and so will many others be acting to protect me and each other. Can we do that? Can we protect each other as well? Don't just consider throwing your life away first even for my sake, I don't want to lose anyone." She was serious and took his hands within her own while looking him directly in the eyes; she wanted him not to try and remain so stern about this decision.

He was silent when she was looking right back into his eyes, he was taken aback by her words, and she didn't want to lose anyone..? That meant she didn't want to lose a stranger? He wasn't sure how to respond to her, but he wasn't going to let it confuse him too much.

"Please Sesumi? Consider it a favor to me, that you'll let everyone protect each other, even if that means for me to protect you…I want to see everyone safe, and the mysterious person I met before; he said it was time for me to fight as well, that means that I must learn to fight, so please let me learn alongside you." She was asking him for help in learning, while he was wanting to protect her; this was not just a request but also a hope of hers.

He gave a soft nod to her and gave her a light stroke on the shoulder with his hand, he could see this unwavering need for such a thing in her heart; it touched him a great deal and he of course found that he couldn't say no to her.

"Okay, I'll leave this to you as you ask...but you have to promise that you will leave this up to me, if our group is scattered and you are with me; allow me to protect you. It is my charge, I really want to make a change while I am here; let my life find its final purpose now." he said as he leaned against her.

She was worried about his words, hearing him say 'final purpose', what did he mean by that? Was he dying from something? She was hoping that no such thing was the case. She hardly knew him and yet, she wanted him like everyone else to make things right.

While the two of them sharing this strange moment, Sesumi blushed and lightly drew back as he looked at her gently, then bowed his head softly; as if apologizing for the moment.

"It's okay." she said as she kept his hand within hers, she felt that she might be depending upon her guardian for a friend, he was open and trusting of her now and she didn't find a problem with trusting him.

She rather liked the idea of him staying beside her, she had no idea why she was starting to accept such a wonderful person as her guardian; the unique culture he must have that made him so modest by nature made her respect him a little more and even giggle at the thought of someone as brave as him hiding his figure behind that Mantle he wore. But she found that just one more thing that drew her to him, she appreciated that about him.

If she had known what was going to happen ahead, perhaps she never would have let her guard down so easily; she'd find herself in the line of fire…as the first shot of this soon to be battlefield of the old Echidnaopolis was underway.

--

From seemingly out of nowhere, a blast of raw energy tore through the air, with sniper accuracy the blast of energy split into hundreds of needle-like blasts and darted after its intended target, one unaware Tikal who only had time to have her eyes open wide when she caught the orange-colored needles of energy about to rain of her.

The rain was stopped short by Sesumi's body; which parted the way of the attacks; he still covered her…like any bodyguard or defender would for their charge, holding her firmly to him while his barrier absorbed the damage that came down. His powers were formidable indeed, in such a short time to have taken the blast that was aimed to kill.

"It seems that you act faster than I expected, Sesumi Anu Kr'uk…I heard your little speech there, Champion of the Hyperstones." The mysterious figure who descended from the clouds above had spoken.

His body glad in a very European-style Lord's armor, complete with a full detail of shoulder guards and cape trailing down the back of the iron-appearing suit that he appeared to be wearing. Upon his head was a helmet, complete with a jousting-grill styled slide cover. However it was upon the chest of this armor that the Seal of 'First Order' resting upon the center of his chest as he landed on the ground. His lance raised justly by his side, he raised the grill slide up and revealed piercing blue eyes…not pupils; just a core blue of stormy rage that was glaring at the two of them.

"You are the chaos soul, the guide that must be killed…you are their messiah and you will not be allowed to survive this battle. I, Yulic of the Lords of Order will destroy you and your would-be guardian before any farce of a defense will rise against us." He pointed the lance at them both.

Sesumi placed himself directly in between the two and gave him a calm gaze in his eyes, as he spoke softly, just enough for Tikal to hear.

"Tikal, I think it's time that I show you what I meant before…I can fight on par with your warriors of chaos; allow me to demonstrate with my first act as your guardian." His voice was held with an almost unnatural coolness to it.

His hand moved to his rope-tie that held the Mantle together and as he stepped forward towards the First Lord of Order, the rope and Mantle fell towards the ground; his embroidered Egyptian-like loincloth held seven more of the Heptagonic shaped stones in the waist-tie that held the cloth up it seemed.

Now that battle was beginning, it was okay for his body to be seen…

(end chapter)

Well I know it took me longer than expected to get it out, but here it is; I hope you all enjoyed what was in the first chapter, things are only warming up; and look at this; the First Lord of Order.

Is he acting on orders from the other Lords or is he merely overzealous? Come and find out in the next chapter.

Till then, adieu

-Quentix


	3. Chapter: The Battle, Witnessing a Savior

A/N: Sorry it took me this long to get this fic out of my system folks, I've been experimenting a little bit with my ideas and finally have come up with the next stage of this Chapter, and I hope you enjoy the new elements I'll be throwing in there, now without further adieu; I will present to you, the next chapter.  
(End A/N)

Chapter II: The Battle, Witnessing a Savior

"You are pitiful, challenging me without a weapon? How reckless and arrogant!" Sir Yulic had so proudly addressed him given the fact that he was walking towards him already without any kind of weapon, the only thing that Sesumi had was bracers and greaves and nothing visible to help him out.

Yulic wasted no time in attacking after a brief salute, his lance thrusting forward at Sesumi's face, no doubt the force of the blow had potential to kill, all it was going to take was a mere moment of attacking to end it, or so he thought.  
When Sesumi grabbed the ends of the lance in that one moment with his palms, the speed with which he grabbed it were something to be amazed about, simply put he stopped the lance immediately upon the point of it entering his radius.  
"How is this possible?!" This was all he'd get to say before feeling a force in his ribs, something hitting him through the armor and causing him to feel nothing but intense pain; the shock…that a Lord of Order could be affected by a mortal, let alone feel the amount of pain that he was right now.

The battle was quickly started by the next moment, Yulic stopping the next kick aimed for his side with his lance, he shoved Sesumi back and swept the Lance at his ribs; building up the speed with which he was attacking, obviously he meant to return the favor to Sesumi.  
"Sesumi…" Tikal could not help but be in awe at her guardian's effect, my…was she so fast to accept him? His actions denoted nothing less than a faith to protecting her for the reason that stranger had chosen awaken her from the Emerald, she was given a new body; a new chance at existence and this warrior from the stars already acted without any doubt, he was here to protect her and she knew this for a fact, this thing that pleased and shocked her both at once.

Her eyes could only watch as Sesumi blocked each blow attempted by the Order Lord, deflecting the lance again an again seemed to be a beginning nature of his; there with his hands moving with an oceanic grace, the very force with which he moved with, this was not merely embodying the element of water. No this very force embodied the nature of the mighty waves, with each sway of his body, his very fingertips seemed capable of wielding this incredible power, adjusting the tip, before the rest of the arm joined the motion in redirecting the swift moving tip.

"A mere mortal, how could you be doing this? Do you know who I am?! I am Lord Yulic, the one who will bring Order to this pitiful world!" he spoke with visible pride and the conviction was admirable.

But this meant little to Sesumi, who decided it, was time to end this battle before it got started. He moved with the force of an ocean, not responding to the bold words of the Lord, instead he saw this like a pattern…he could sense the pulses of energy as the Lord made his moves, he read them like a master reads a chess board.

'Thrust, slash, swipe, jab, jab, thrust, slash…now!' his mind seemed to be at focus and at ease, he was using the presence of Tikal in order to focus, his duty was to protect her.

Yulic's eyes went wide after the next moment of his miss, all he could see was the fact that his triple thrusts had missed and somehow a sweeping leg had slammed into his ribs; he swore that he could feel the power of an ocean wave slamming into him.

For a moment this was the scene, Yulic's pain and his body being swept into the ground, skipping like a stone in water before flying off of the cliff edge, sent shooting towards the ocean's surface, while Sesumi made his move.

"Tikal, we must go now." He said as he moved to her side, walking at a moderate pace while he gracefully slid the robe back on and over his body; while tying the band he stepped to her side and picked her up into his arms.

"S-Sesumi!" she was surprised by his picking her up, in that next moment she could feel them moving at rapid speeds, what had he done? Was he actually in movement? It didn't seem that was the point right now, in any such fact; they were well off of Angel Island.

She was unable to determine exactly what was going on, all she knew was that this must've been his equivalent of Chaos Control; after all they would not skip on sending a warrior capable of defending her unless he could stand up to such potent beings, this much was a given. She waited until he had finished his actions, there when he stopped in Station Square, on top of a building did he look around and then looked to her.

"Are you okay Tikal?" he asked her while still holding her to his chest, he hadn't even question what he was doing right now, no the more important thing was making sure that she suffered no damage during this whole outcome.

She was blushing at the moment, feeling his warmth and his powerful arms surrounding her; she had never known such a feeling…was this what it was like to know the tenderness of another? Someone who would protect you no matter what, this was what she had often heard about, what she watched at the time she chose to help Sonic face off with Chaos, she was able to come to an understanding; bringing the members of Sonic's friends into the past so they could understand Chaos's past, and the incident that happened allowed her to share their emotions. For a short time, she fused some of her being with each of his friends and had taken from the experiences she had while with them. She never thought she'd be feeling it like she was now, while she didn't answer she was considering the entire truth of things now: From her feelings to what just happened and how she felt about it.

"Tikal? I hope that didn't scare you." He wasn't sure what to think really, being that her answer had been silence, he knew that she looked okay; but he held her closer out of reflex, more in a way of an apologetic hug of a sort.

Tikal snapped out of it after feeling the gentle gesture on his behalf, it made her heart beat more; while she blushed a bright red, she wondered if he knew just how he made her feel. Already his heroics had made her heart feel about him, she was already feeling something for her protector, and she wasn't sure of exactly what she was feeling. He had been so sweet and kind enough a guardian, not only look after her but also to ensure her safety so effectively.

"Um…yes Sesumi, I'm fine you kept me from suffering any harm, I'm just a little shaken but its fine." She said while just relaxing in his arms, which seemed to be something subtle and almost second nature; just why did this have to feel so right?

"I see, well then I can see that I'm pretty effective." He said as his tail swished behind him lightly, yes he was feeling good that his defense had been effective for her, since the last thing he would need was to know his powers lacked what was necessary; which thankfully wasn't the case.

Still he knew that he couldn't slack in his training, he was going to need everything he had to protect her, he knew that this was the weakest of the Lords; considering the knight had told him some important tactical information about their foes.

"I'm sorry Tikal, I have taken my guardian duties a little too far." He said now with a noticeable blush, while he set her down on her feet. He was rubbing the side of his neck, since no doubt he had never held a girl so close, he knew that to be a fact since he was it for his planet; no more than two souls left beside himself and they all went in different directions.

She seemed a little disappointed by this, though she really wasn't sure why. Sure he was a handsome and dashing savior of hers, but that was not the only reason that she had, Sesumi was sweet by his general nature and someone that she already liked for his personality. This act of his alone made her feel a little more for him, he wasn't looking to take advantage…a sigh escaping her lips, but one of a happy nature.

"It's okay Sesumi, but now we need to work out a strategy…I don't like war, I feel even worse when the thought comes to Battle. But as I can tell there is very little to talk about with these warriors of Order, they do not see things in an understanding capacity. We are being forced into a position of taking action, so let us set out to gather our friends; the heroes of this world, Sesumi." She smiled at him as he nodded to her.

She took his hand and gave it a light squeeze, drawing her guardian to her side and smiling.  
"Okay, let me get us to the closest of our defenders, Amy Rose; she is in the very building across the street." She said as she felt warmth blooming inside of her.

What was it now that she felt? It was actually some good feeling about what lay ahead, no doubt that some of this came from her fondness for her guardian; but that only made it better on her she found, she was able to enjoy his company and now gathering the first of many heroes.

"I'll take us down there." Sesumi said as he was preparing to take some action, though another gentle squeeze stopped him.  
"Please, allow me Sesumi. Chaos Control!" she spoke the words confidently, and politely commanded the forces of Chaos to teleport them both to the building across the way; she could feel Amy Rose's presence and used that to hone in on her location.

She was surprised that she still managed to give the Pink hedgehog some sense of privacy since she managed to bring them outside of the door, though that was more luck, since frankly she had never been exposed to such architecture before. That just meant that there was a first for everything really. She was able to take the lead.

Was this what the old man, Makius meant? That she would take the leadership position on her own? It seemed she was interpreting his message this way, she still remembered his speech to her, and the message that it carried from within. She was the gentle soul that would lead the mighty and proud warriors of Chaos against that of Order.

It was here that while she was in thought, Sesumi lightly knocked on the door and waited for an answer; If Tikal could sense the female hedgehog that inhabited this living space, then without a doubt she must've been in for sure.

"Coming~" Amy's voice rang sweetly in response to the polite knocking while she straightened out her dress, she in her heart hoped it was Sonic, but couldn't be sure of course just what was the case, she was just wanting that.

Sesumi straightened out his mantle and collar while still holding Tikal's hand, his seemed to be the biggest cause to calm her and make sure she was safe; these thoughts prime within his mindset.

"Hello, can I help you?" Amy looked at Sesumi and the robes he was dressed in; she imagined he was probably from some parish trying to spread the good word, nothing that she was really interested in.

"Yes, Amy Rose is that right?" he was going to get to the point.

"Yes, I'm Amy Rose." Though she was still sweet, she was just waiting for the words she needed to hear so she could go about her day, as soon as she heard 'I'm here to bring to you the message of the lord…blah blah blah', she did get tired of hearing it after a while.

"I am Sesumi Anu Kr'uk, Guardian of the Chaos's Soul; we need your help." He said sounding very sincere by his words, though also sounding rather critical of the moment that was upon them.

She looked to him and tilted her head to the side while facing him, since she heard what his choice of words had been. She got his name and that he was a guardian of the chaos soul.

"Guardian of chaos…soul? What do you mean? Knuckles is the Guardian of the Master Emerald and regularly the Chaos Emeralds." She shook her head and watched him for a reaction, she hadn't understood him exactly, but she was definitely willing to hear him.  
Just then a new voice entered the conversation, one that Amy hadn't heard in a very long time.

"He means well and his words are right Amy, I'm the chaos soul he speaks of; do you remember me?" she asked her, hoping that the Pink hedgehog hadn't forgotten the first adventure that got her seriously involved in the protection of Mobius alongside Sonic.

"Um…you…you're Tikal, but how…?" she looked on in confusion and wonderment over the situation.

"A long story, that I can tell you as I explain the situation; but first Amy I must ask, are you willing to protect Mobius from danger once again?" she asked her, hoping that she might give a positive answer.

"Of course I am, no one can threaten our home and my Sonic!" she said as she looked to Tikal with a friendly nod in her direction.

"...And if your life is threatened? I will not say this is not dangerous, the enemy are extremely powerful and would mean to kill you for opposing them, these enemies by which I speak of; these Lords of Order are serious and dangerous customers." He said as he spoke up.  
This time she hadn't answered as fast, she looked hesitant within the first moment, Sesumi wasn't trying to scare away the help; he just wanted her to know the dangers.

"Sesumi is right, they would mean you harm…but don't forget Amy, we're always here to protect you, as comrades in the same cause we will watch out for one another." Tikal said hoping to inspire the Pink Hedgehog, though she honestly wasn't sure of her own attempt.

For another moment she was quiet, Amy was contemplating the effort thought for thought really, however it was far enough that she was certain it would get somewhere; Amy made her decision in that moment she looked up at the faces of her new comrades.

"Of course, I'm going to protect Mobius, for us all, for the people of this world, but most importantly for Sonic and me." She said with an iron determination, she wasn't dreaming…no this was very serious for her.

Amy invited the both of them into her apartment and discussions began for just what was going on, Amy was being explained the entire situation, including who the mysterious Sesumi was while Amy made some tea and snacks for them all to enjoy. Amy seemed fine to focus while she was doing something to occupy her mind partially.

--Elsewhere on Mobius—

The familiar visage of the Black hedgehog came into view, from above Shadow was standing silent upon a tall pillar in the middle of this mountainous badland area; where he was? That wasn't really to be known by anyone except for the Ultimate Lifeform himself.

"And so this is the famous Ultimate Lifeform, what kind of a being are you, Shadow the Hedgehog? Are you honorable or are you much to your name, the pathetic wretch etched out of darkness who claims to be some existing ultimate form of life; that very title begets your arrogance!!" the words of the mysterious knight came to point, as he leapt from the top of his Order Force steed, a sapphire horse with matching bridal armor, saddle, and hair color. It matched point for point of the ornamented Order Lord who stood before Shadow, who still ignored his presence.

For a moment Shadow opened his eyes and looked to the Lord of Order, eyes narrowing on the new foe who dared to oppose him; Shadow had not waited for the Lord to react. He spoke no words…simply disappeared with a flicker of his Chaos Control, there before the knight could react; Shadow's fist slammed into his armored helmet and shot him back into the floor violently, all of this in a single action.

"Hmph, you have no idea what your up against." Were the only words to pass from Shadow's lips, as they curled into a smirk and he stood waiting for his foe to rise.

The Order Lord looked at him, blinking a few moments before he popped his neck and removed his Sallet helmet from his face, grinning as he set it down and snapped his fingers, causing both the weapon and helmet to disappear.

"You are amusing Shadow the Hedgehog, this will be fun and it will be my pleasure to destroy one of the strongest warriors of Chaos on this world, I am your foe…a Lord of Order, Sir Dage. You are in for a fight for your life, valiant hedgehog." His words were bold and as he stood, he disappeared in a flash of light, joined by Shadow who caught him via Chaos Control.

Both warriors quickly forced to appear once more as their powers canceled out, this catching the Lord by surprise, as Shadow headbutted him and kicked him away hard; sending the Lord back to the ground with ease.

"Don't waste my time Lord of Order, if that's what you call yourself; you're dealing with the Ultimate Lifeform." Shadow's words meant as a boast and an insult to the knight, whom he imagined was just as arrogant as he seemed.

It worked, Sir Dage stood and took stance again; glaring at Shadow with a scowl on his face; how could this happen? That chaos power could match his Order step? Impossible! But this was what he was told before; the chaos force has exactly the means to match the forces of Order.

Without waiting for his opponent to make a move, Shadow took the advance and dashed towards him; immediately moving to meet this foolish knight in battle; whoever the hell he thought himself to be, he'd regret ever showing his face before the mighty Shadow.

(End Chapter)

--

Well I hope this makes it more fun, this is simply the beginning because as I move to continue; I will show more battles between the Sonic Cast and these Lords of Order, tell me what you think or if you have any particular requests? I'm all ears, so please R & R.

Till the next time, adieu

-Quentix


	4. Chapter: For the love of a Guardian

A/N: It's been such a time and now it's a point that I will leave at saying many difficulties over the summer, but no longer =D. I am back at school and quite eager to get back to writing and so it is with great pleasure that I hop right back into the story. I also hope that it's not too fast that Tikal and Sesumi shall be hitting it off. I fully intend to explain the matter, but just consider if you've been locked away for such a long time and then suddenly swept off of your feet by a knight in shining armor heh, that's the idea that I'm rolling with for Tikal and her champion/guardian Sesumi. I will make it worth everyone's while, and with that I say on with the fiction!

(End A/N)

--

Chapter III: For the love of a Guardian, Tikal's wish

As Shadow faced off with the powerful Sir Dage, he seemed to be amused by this powerful force that faced off with him now. And it clearly seemed the two had broken about even here, he gave the knight a little smirk on his face and then twisted his neck to the side and then gave a smirk towards his opponent, as the two warriors had been gauging one another in combat.

"I must say that I had misjudged you Shadow the Hedgehog, indeed…you are not a jester in combat, you are quite equivalent to that of the mythical Black Knight of Order, but I'm afraid this won't be allowed to continue as I am going to finish this battle here and now." Sir Dage said as he removed the shoulder plates he'd been wearing and popped his neck lightly as he looked at him now.

Shadow looked at him and ignored the sudden raise in the energy surrounding him, it was clear that he knew that whatever this strange Knight was doing it was going to be something that he wouldn't let this happen. Shadow would finish this no matter what way it was aimed to happen, he wasn't going to let this simple creature of a strange energy he'd never felt defeat him now.

"Stop your chatter, come." He said as he looked at Dage, waiting for this would-be great attack that was aimed his way.

Sir Dage made his move at the moment Shadow taunted him, coming in with a swift sweep of his arm aimed to knock down the black hedgehog. Shadow teleported just before the attack hit him and appeared at the Lord of Order's side and slammed his foot into his waist, sending him stumbling to the side before he jumped on Dage and tackled him to the ground.

Shadow wasted no moments and immediately punched Dage across the face twice before he continued; unleashing a violent flurry unto the Lord of Order's face, indeed which normal mortal would be capable of sustaining consciousness during such a brutal beating.

"Rraah!!!" suddenly the surge of energy inside of Dage shot outward in a powerful shockwave, allowing the downed Order Lord to rise by floating, his eyes now surging with a potent aura that surged around his body.

Dage had nothing to say to the beating he'd just taken or the fact that he was now bleeding, instead he felt something that most Lords had said was a bane in combat; he felt anger as he never tasted it before, as his blood ran crimson down the side of his face and inside of his mouth, he felt a grin rising onto his face.

"Yes, this is combat that I have yearned for, you are indeed worthy to suffer under my fury…my rage!" he said as he glared at Shadow and dived at him suddenly.

Shadow didn't care for words in battle, especially now since it was pointless conjecture that would get this idiotic opponent of his no closer to winning the battle. Shadow and the Lord met in a fearsome clash of energies. And as the two forces met in this clash, both sides of Chaos and Order Force users would feel the potent forces meeting. As it were, this was what it meant for the forces of opposite natures to clash in battle.

--With Tikal—

She gasped at the feeling of energy running through her very veins, she flinched the next moment and stumbled before being caught by Sesumi who steadied her out. She wanted to thank him, but she was still feeling the forces at work very seriously growing in power, and as she attempted to grow used to the surges that continued for a few moments; her breathing finally steadying after the surprise that had hit her so hard.

"Tikal? My Lady is something wrong?" he could feel the energy that was surging through the air, even though he used neither force; he knew just what was happening and why she reacted.

"It's alright Sesumi, I am fine…just stunned for the moment, it's the first time that I've been able to feel both Chaos and Order clashing, it is a rather unique sensation." She said it, leaving it at that to best describe what kind of a feeling it was for her.

Sesumi nodded and helped her continue towards the Mystic Ruins, since meeting up with Amy, they managed to recruit her, Sonic, Rouge the Bat (with some persuasion/promise of jewels), Chaotix (with some persuasive speech), and now it was up to them both to get Tails along for the group as well. It seemed to be something very sure to happen, since if Sonic was helping it would no doubt be simple to get the two tailed genius youth along with their cause as well.

Tikal hadn't believed that it would be possible for them to come this far and yet she felt capable of doing it with Sesumi at her side, she knew that he would be there and not leave her despite what had come to pass thus far, she was happy to be alive for right now; to feel the air through her dreads and along her face. But mostly now to feel the warmth of a gentle touch, as Sesumi's hand held hers she smiled at the back of his head.

'_Please don't let this be a dream, I don't want it to end even if it is…I am with someone and it feels wonderful.' _She whispered it softly as if afraid to say it aloud, afraid she might jinx herself.

This was indeed not the best kind of circumstances she would prefer to be awake by, but there was no problem with her doing this now, she knew it was her destiny to be here and to be alongside her guardian. She wanted so much in life now, she for once in her life wanted to say a lot, but she'd already had a small conversation with Amy about such a thing.

She and Amy had a little 'girl talk', which was a serious first for her, to have a friend that was another young woman of her age.

(--Flashback--)

As Tikal watched Sesumi stand guard while Amy brought some tea back into the main room, Amy giggled softly at the scene before her. Oh she knew just what that gaze was even though for Tikal it was so innocent, she was sure she recognized that look on Tikal's face, a glowing admiration and even a tenderness for the person that she looked at.

"Hey Tikal, come here a moment?" Amy said as she had set the tea down and stepped to the side, leaving Sesumi on the balcony to watch for any danger.

"Yes?" Tikal stepped back and came to her new friend; yes she felt that Amy was her friend and that she could trust her a great deal even though they'd just met now. This was the kind of thing she'd always wanted in life and that was a friend.

Amy put a hand on her shoulder and smiled in a knowing manner.

"Tikal, I wanted to ask you what's your relationship with Sesumi?" she asked it innocently enough.

Tikal blinked a moment and then offered a light smile, it was enough to answer.

"Oh he and I are great friends, he has been with me since I awakened, he came to my side and aided me when I was in danger. He's strong and brave, a wonderful example of a young male, he reminds me of the young Echidna warriors…but he's so very kind." Tikal kind of went on about Sesumi, unknowingly she was giving Amy all of the information she needed on the moment.

Amy couldn't help but giggle again, yep…just as she thought, Tikal was smitten with her new friend, though she could see why from Sesumi's demeanor. Amy had rarely met such a kind young male who was responsible, compassionate, kind, mindful of others, and had wonderful manners.

'_Sonic could use manners like that._' This was something that Amy sure thought about, but that was another story.

"Well as I thought Tikal, you really do like him and a little more than friendship goes." She was stating the case that she was sure, of course keeping it low enough in volume so it was just between her and Tikal.

This made Tikal look at her with another moment of innocence in her eyes, what did she mean by beyond friendship? He was indeed a wonderful young man, a protective guardian who had devoted himself to her well-being since they met up. Yes she liked him and she…ohhh Tikal's face turned a soft red, luckily her fur was already of that shade and helped to hide the blush.

"W-Why Amy, I could not f-feel that much for him, it's much too soon!" Tikal was trying to explain the way she understood it, certain it would take more time to determine that right?

Amy gave Tikal a reassuring pat on the shoulder and simply shook her head gently at the sweet Echidna before her.

"Sometimes it just comes that quickly Tikal, your heart knows it before you do, and I think you should snag Sesumi before he gets away or someone else nabs him." Amy was sure that Tikal was a little too sweet in that regard and might keep back on it, so she gave what she thought was good advice to her.

Tikal gave Amy a small nod, an acknowledgement of what the Pink Hedgehog was saying, even though she wasn't sure that she totally understood the matter; after all it's not like she knew things about love right? Certainly not on the regular, this was all very new to her, and the array of emotions was something that she would learn as she went.

"Y-yes…I think I understand, thank you Amy." Tikal said, before receiving a hug from the pink hedgehog.

(--End Flashback--)

Tikal quickly came to once she felt herself stumble over a crack in the ground, she found herself safely wrapped in his Sesumi's hold once more, he would never let her fall and she knew that deep down.

"Are you sure you are well my Lady Tikal? I want nothing more than your health to come first on this quest as it is your well being first to my mind." That was the point of his being here, in his mind it was certainly the first thing of his to worry about, his well being was next as he was to watch out for her in his prime, so caring about that was necessary as well.

She nodded and helped herself to stand once more before looking at him with such a gentle look and perhaps a little more, being from beyond Mobius, this was something that Sesumi noticed and a gentle blush crept onto his face since that adoration never left her vision. It melted that core of his, the thing that made him live, breathe, and act upon whatever decree that was given.

The moment was spoiled by a blast aimed for Tikal, Sesumi reacted without a second thought and punched the blast back towards its source before stepping before her and glaring at the source that he hoped they'd left behind; it was Lord Yuin once again.

"You act fast for a knave who dares to oppose us." Yuin said with a hiss, he was very pissed at the earlier occurance. He had been turned away so easily by this fiend and then his honor insulted by Sesumi's fleeing the battle and that hurt more than anything else and directed his rage here.

Sesumi ignored his words and untied the rope around his waist, before slipping out of his mantle he looked at Tikal lightly a moment, speaking a word from his vision alone as if saying there _'Please step back and be safe'_ it seemed not to say anything from that point following, since his eyes turned back to face Yuin and he took the air in a single leap.

"We've no time to play with you Order Lord, I know your purpose and consider yourself no knight, since you attack us without provocation and you have the nerve to attack an innocent! You knights have no honor, so you have no right to speak of it!" Sesumi's apparent anger about the moment and the events that had passed already, his right fist erupting into an aura of strange energies, while he moved in on his target.

Yuin was angered by his word and clashed with Sesumi's fist, not caring about the raw power that he felt crackling before him, his Order force was rising in tune with his emotions, even though somewhat unstably.

"I have no honor? You fiendish Cur! I will destroy you for such an insult!!" he yelled as he shoved Sesumi back, how dare he insinuate that he attacked innocents. Perhaps this girl was an innocent, but he was also ordered to destroy her regardless…even though it did oppose his will and nature which was to protect this odd girl though she was on the opposing side.

The Lord of Order's next moves were nothing but a blur, as he nailed Sesumi across the face with a right cross and then slammed his knuckles into his back. He found this stranger's body almost like striking a carapace, despite him being fully energized by his power. He followed up with a knee aimed for Sesumi's chest and found he hit something.

"Am I too fast?" he said smirking until he saw Sesumi's face.

"No, actually your slow _and_ weak, good night Sir Yuin!" he said as he revealed he had caught his knee with both hands.

While Yuin had caught him off guard at first now, Sesumi was already putting this to an end immediately, bringing his body up in a strange contortion, he used the knee as balance and brought his feet up over his torso (in a handstand raise) before slamming both feet of his into the top of Yuin's head.

"Argh!!" the blow hadn't been noticed, was…such a thing even possible? He never saw it coming and this left Yuin falling back from the initial shock of the blow.

As promised the next blow was ending the battle, Sesumi's right heel planted itself across Yuin's face and shot him into the woods somewhere nearby. While Sesumi himself floated back down and landed near Tikal once more, he picked up his mantle and slipped back into it quickly.

He wanted to ask Tikal how she was doing but also knew with that maneuver it was time to go and fast while Yuin was downed from the blows he gave him. After the next moment when he was dressed and gently picking up Tikal without a word yet, however the look he saw on her face said one thing that he needed to know. _I trust you._

And with that Sesumi took flight once again it was more of a glide now that Tikal felt it clearly, he certainly had some ability to raise himself in height and so it was brought floating or something like hover, but it felt wonderful to her. For her it was almost like being lifted by the ray of heaven, yes that was a way to describe the warmth that encompassed her and made her feel so safe really, it was clear that there was nothing about the battle that bothered her; which was one of those strange moments for one simple reason…she hated battle no matter how brief usually.

"My Lady, are you alright?" his voice broke her train of thought, and the look on his face of worry touched her heart deeply.

She looked at his face and then cupped his cheek gentle before she moved in closer to him and wiped the blood from his lip where he'd been hit, he was bleeding and he was asking her how she was doing? She almost wanted to just show him what she felt, she could not hide from something that she felt in such abundance; no…more to that point she didn't want to hide from it.

"Sesumi you bleed and yet you worry about me? Your sweetness is a divine thing, I almost cannot bear such care for my sake; yet you have dedicated yourself to me and you have…melted my heart." She said as she looked into his eyes.

He offered her a smile that spoke of such things, that it made her lean more into his hold, did he understand what she meant? She could see that he was at least aware of it through his actions, the gentleness of his touch adjusting to hold her up with greater ease, but why would he not react to her words?

"And so to it…my Lady Tikal is my devotion, it is for you to remain safe from any in all things, if I bleed a little then it shall be nothing more than a price that was paid to ensure your safety. I am your guardian and I will allow nothing of a negative kind to happen to you, I will protect you from all that is wrong in this land and together with our allies we can bring this conflict to an end." His words were of a valiant nature and once more her heart fluttered from the speed, but also in some worry…as to why he spoke so foolishly brave?

He would not be alone in protecting Mobius or her in that matter. She would not allow someone like Sesumi to be alone in such a duty as this, if he would not listen to words then he would to her action; she spoke to him with all of her heart and now she would try something beyond her usual nature.

"Understand my heart Sesumi…through my action." She said this and before he could be confused, she acted.

Sesumi had very little time to understand what was happening, since Tikal brought his face closer to hers and brought his lips against hers gently. The matter was of an incredible nature, as if the elements enacted through the very moment that they were now sharing, Sesumi felt the warmth of fire in her kiss, with the fluidity of water as she stroked her fingers along his face. The placid calmness of the earth as he felt her within his arms, with the soft caress of the wind along their bodies as he glided towards the ground; his body was on auto-pilot without him in control, no…he was lost with Tikal in the expression of tender feelings.

_'Could this be the heaven…on this planet? My Charge now becomes the one who brands my heart…with her love.'_ Sesumi's mind quickly submitting to this shared fact between them both: he too harbored feelings for the beautiful Echidna that he held in his arms and now he coming to terms with that this very minute.

As he felt the warmth of her lips against his gliding finally came to an end as he moved to land, luckily the moment had not stopped a landing. Tikal found herself thinking only of Sesumi for that moment, she knew in the back of her mind that they needed to finish gathering help; the Lords of Order were a serious threat and yet…at least in the moment she only wanted him to be with her. Tikal was more than she'd ever been in the past, she was a woman who loved this male not as a guardian but as the person she knew him to be; who was entwined with who he was as her protector.

After some time of what felt like an eternity of holding the warmth of the kiss she felt him drawing back and sighed at the feeling of the action, it felt so wonderful from their moment of connection. She could very well feel his soul through their kiss and knew this was something that she wanted from their hearts.

"My Lady Tikal…could this truly be?" Sesumi was holding her and here he saw the adoration in her eyes and still he questioned if this was possible, sighed at the warmth between them and looked into her eyes with a tenderness reflected from within his heart. Had he felt this way upon their meeting? He wasn't sure.

He knew she was special and wanted to see it through, he felt that he wanted to seek this out and to try and find out if this was what he felt, but did he have a right to be so selfish in this moment? She was the one he was going to protect, she was someone most important above all else and he knew it.

"Yes Sesumi, oh yes this can be and please, don't speak about duty or tell me we owe it to everything else to be chaste." She said as she cupped his cheeks and stroked his face lightly while she smiled again.

She was not forsaking her duty, but she thought that they deserved to be as happy as anyone else might; this was not a reason or a sudden time to decide that duty was first, for once…she was going to try and see this through and ensure that she was being true not only to the world but also to herself.

"We will find our path with the way of things Sesumi, we will discover that even those used to self sacrifice can have love and we will embrace that path, just tell me that you are willing to try…are you?" She looked at him with hope radiating in her eyes, just wanting his answer to be yes.

When he nodded gently, she gave his cheeks a soft caress and leaned herself forward and kissed him again, a gentle kiss that spoke of her joy as the tears began to slide down her cheeks. They were not of sadness, but more of her happiness as it was now finally that she was getting to share this with someone; it was finally her chance to sample love, a thing she'd often envied deeply within her heart. Yes even a soul of sacrifice could desire something as earthly as love when one never had been allowed to sample it.

After some moments of exchanging vows through their glances, Sesumi finally brought Tikal with him up the long stairway that led to Tails' Workshop, all the while Sesumi was trying to remained focused on his duty of protecting Tikal, now she was focusing on that which mattered most; her will to find a way to stop the Lords of Order and perhaps maintain the balance that she knew was necessary, this was nothing that was going to be ended in one all out battle; she knew that she had been awakened for one reason and that was her ability to keep souls at peace, she needed to resolve this without spilling any blood of the Lords.

"Sesumi, please refrain from causing any fatal harm to the Lords of Order, I do believe they are exactly what they sound like, warriors attempt to keep watch over the Order and maintain a kind of peace that is beyond our understanding; they keep an even tie with the Chaos Emeralds and the Master Emerald, I just know that they are all a part of this greater circle of peace and justice; so promise me, even if protecting me may challenge that, do your best not to destroy any one Lord." She looked at him and meant what she was saying right now, she desired it of her guardian.

He nodded to her and then took her hand as he heard the door starting to rattle, Tails was answering it no doubt.

"Yes, I will promise to not destroy a Lord of Order, but…if they wish to harm you I will exercise my right to bring them pain for their wish to bring you harm." He was ensuring that he could beat the stuffing out of the Lord that messed with her well being.

As the young orange fox answered the door, things were indeed looking up, but this guaranteed nothing would be easy, for as long as there was success there would be a challenged failure meaning them to lose.

(End Chapter)

Just another look at this, I am not gonna have Tikal and Sesumi flying off the handle so don't worry about that. I as a writer am taking a risk most certainly with doing this, but I believe Tikal would be excited at the prospect of love and to find she has a crush on her guardian with whom she finds herself liking after he rescued her a few times? Not too unbelievable.

Not to worry for those who are looking for more content on the Sonic gang, I fully intend to involve them more in the next chapter, and more clashing with the Lords of Order! So it should be fun.

Till then adieu

-Quentix


	5. Chapter: Order & chaos, Tikal's Wisdom

A/N: Hey guys it's been a while since I've written anything for this but I have finally come to the next exciting step for this fiction. As with OC's I know one must be careful with what grounds that they cover and with that in mind it is with my moments here that I am going to let you know what it is planned for the future. Somewhat ahead is more moments of Sesumi and Tikal coming closer, I do realize that it was a bit forward for someone as gentle as Tikal and due to that I will be toning down said passion. Call it writer's excitement over the mood. I don't see many Tikal fiction these days, let alone any that really allow her freedom. I suppose I going to try that here with this fic.

The Lords of Order are very much the equals of chaos, that is what I would like you to know. Though fictionalized by your truly, the idea that Order can come from chaos is the whole reason that the 'Order/chaos' wheel exists. They balance one another and the other cannot exist without the anti-thesis. So that's why there are 7 Lords, to match their emerald counterparts. While there is a difference in power between each, their power sources are the equivalent of the Emeralds. The ensuing battle is one form of unbalance; caused by an unforeseen factor. So with all that I shall get to the good stuff now. Without further adieu, here we go!

(End A/N)

--

Chapter IV: Order from Chaos, Tikal's wisdom

As the two rested outside briefly beneath the light of the setting sun, Tikal looked at how much the land had changed, was this really once her homeland? She smelled the air and the change of the atmosphere, from the forms of technology to the lack of vegetation bothered her somewhat. While the island still had some visual remnants of old ruins, she had never seen such change and it…frightened her. It was expected since she had not been home in sometime. This part of the island, originally forbidden seemed to be the haven where if any people stayed; they lived or at least were present on this portion of the island.

As they headed towards the quaint little workshop, she had a strange feeling about this particular area. It to had not gone unnoticed by Sesumi who was standing at her back, not too closely since after their moment he had since felt strangely awkward. It was not to say that her affections were not returned, but how more to say that it did not seem right in mind to mix duty with feelings for one other. However he long knew that it was out of his hands when she confessed her feelings for him.

It seemed to be more than a crush as far as her kiss told, it was perhaps just volumes of never before expressed feelings. As she the spirit of the Master Emerald was not free to do more than act in her duty. He could understand some of her will and why it would not be pressured or kept back anymore. He saw no need for her to even think twice about that, the only thing he didn't know was that neither did she.

As Tikal knocked on the door and hoped to get some response, she glanced back at her guardian and smiled. In one way she was musing at how confused he looked, his face read volumes of his feelings even though he tried to keep a cool face on. It was more than enough that he had returned the kiss, it made her giddy to see that she had this kind of a visible effect on him; as she watched his near flawless combat skill she might have thought him colder and sturdier of his emotional control, but now she knew better.

Not answering the door directly at first a small voice sounded from the panel near the door, it had been Tails while he was hard at work, in the basement of his workshop.

"Yes? Who is it?" the voice asked something fairly standard. He did want to know just who it was at this time of night?

"Greetings to you Tails, I do not believe we've formally met but once, I am Tikal and I had once assisted you, Sonic, and your friends in stopping Chaos from destroying the world at one point. I am here to speak to you about a threat that does formally exist now, we need your help." she said in a calm but still serious(for her sweet demeanor that says alot) tone.

Tails took a moment to respond, it was Tikal? Was it possible she got out? He was racking his mind for answers already and appeared to be looking for something more of an answer that needed to come out of him; though one could not initially be sure just what means she had been freed or released, but it didn't matter really did it? She said they needed help.

Snapping out of his daze, he quickly answered after what was about 2 minutes of mental questions.

"Err, Yes Tikal please come right in. You and your friend." the sensors obviously read two heat sources and he imagined that it was someone of importance with her.

Without a moment to waste, Tikal entered the quaint little workshop's equivalent of a living room, it was clear to see that Tails lived to work mostly. Even though there was a couch and a T.V., there was also in the corner a work desk and some papers scattered over it. Something that looked like advanced mathematics or something beyond Tikal's general understanding written there. She of course sat on the couch while Sesumi stood at the side of the couch, as if ready for anything.

Tikal shook her head to herself, she hoped he'd get over that. Not everywhere they visited was a danger zone, she took his hand within her own and drew him around the couch. Well more like he walked at her guiding hand's direction until she sat him next to her. Sesumi was dumbfounded and she was left to giggle softly at his expression, was he so lost by the action? Even if they were not that close yet, she liked him near and wanted him to appear casual; there was no need to throw Tails into some kind of distress by seeing such a serious figure like Sesumi stern.

"Delivering messages is a thing of simplicity sometimes, even in the most dire situations they must be handled calmly. Not always is the hand of battle necessary to be raised." she spoke wisdom, something that she'd gone over through her long time asleep with Chaos.

How she read the water god's mind while it rested, this was how one kept sane sometimes and through that philosophy she found herself enjoying the company and even missing it somewhat now. But that was not her place, as the one who freed her had told her; she was not to worry about Chaos who had finally returned to a kind peace and rest without her presence necessary.

Left to her thoughts for a moment, Sesumi was looking around the workshop while he sat beside her. He had not put much thought into the moment until she sat him down, he needed to focus and be ready...this was what he told himself. But there was a clear difference between mental and physically ready as this was something he knew. She wanted him to relax and so he did and had even loosened up his stiff posture. Even as he knew that she liked him, he couldn't really figure why they still held hands. This by his people's standard meant that they were dating...were they?

He blushed immediately at the thought, she was a truly beautiful Echidna...very delicate and graceful in everything she did. He found her a delight to be around and for most things certain did she always brighten a mood. He knew that there was no reason not to pay her attention, be her protecting her or not.

The question was not whether he felt for her or not, it was to be left at one fact: that her safety still came first. His feelings might not ride second to his duty, but he was going to ensure that they did not get in the way of her protection, his safety came after that and if he could, escape or fleeing would come if necessary. For Sesumi it wasn't up for much debate, but if Tikal had known his mindset that might well be different.

He wasn't all that sure why his mind was being clouded by those thoughts, a warrior must maintain pure state of mind when focused on something. But such a thing was hard when the one who made your heart whisper sweet melody was so close by.

Just then Tails entered the room and let his presence be known by the half stumble he gave once stepping out into the open.

"Tikal, wow...you look just like what I saw in those memories." he said this while looking at her face, aside from some minor changes from her growing well...more mature; she looked much the same like she back when they first met partway.

The moment continued with Tails asking Tikal some questions about the situation, the young fox had many a question to bring up and to see of course if things were as he had been reading in the newspapers. Random explosions of power and mysterious knights as they had been deemed showing up at different locations seeking information about the chaos emeralds. It seemed that from the common overlander to top G.U.N. officials were being asked and questioned about the said chaos emeralds, these beings were extremely effective at their movements and could not be traced yet.

Though as it turned out Tails had been devising a way to track them down, he listened to each word that Tikal had to say about them. From their powers being the equivalent opposite to that of chaos, to the fact that these beings in their right were hear to bring some kind of 'peace' to Mobius through Order. Tails wasn't really buying the whole thing and that any kind of order that these beings might bring would pose a threat to everyone. Tikal agreed with Tails on that judgment, the Lords of Order were not interested in the common rights of any other being on the world, just as long as there was some kind of a secure stability present.

Sesumi had been monitoring the energies he sensed dancing outside, something was not right as he imagined. He figured that one of their allies might be in danger; if only he had guessed about how right he was. The battle between Shadow and Sir Dage was coming to an end.

--With Shadow--

Shadow rose from the ground, eyes narrowed upon his foe with a glare of coldness beared within his vision. So this was what a Lord of Order could do? It was fairly impressive to see someone keep up with him that wasn't an annoying blue hedgehog.

"You are skilled, I will give you that much." Shadow said before dodging a thrust of the Lord's weapon.

Sir Dage was furious, this hedgehog had not only kept his every move from meeting its point, but he had been launched around by the force of Chaos. It seemed that they'd had little time to grow used to this realm, pain was new to any of them; for the first time in some long centuries they were finally solid.

That was coming to change quickly as Dage's sword missed it's point again, the pulse of energy from the tip had left a sizable hole in the ground where he'd missed. So...that was it, Dage was starting to understand. As a punch slammed into the side of his head and his body sent into a violent tumble, the Lord of Order caught himself and skidded to a stop on his hands and knees.

"But you are no match for the Ultimate power, now begone." Shadow said as he raised his hand over his head, the ends of his fingertips igniting with the flash of gathering chaos energy as he prepared to use his signature move on this fool.

Sir Dage laughed as he spat some of the dirt and blood he'd tasted after the punch to the face to the floor. He finally understood what was going on, why they could be so easily matched.

"This match is yours, but once the Lords of Order reconcile this little weakness of ours; the next match will be mine. We shall see each other Ultimate Lifeform." his words were the last he'd speak for a time. Since the flash of energy on Shadow's fingers reached its zenith.

"No, we will not. Now disappear!!" Shadow yelled and released the flare of chaos, which immediately hit its target and sent him into a spiral haze of chaos oblivion. At the very least that was Shadow believed. The Black hedgehog left in a blue flash of chaos control, through wasting his time in this one area.

However as Sir Dage was defeated, his unconscious body was immediately elevated to the new plane of operations. Order Palace, which hovered on a plane just two seconds beyond Mobian general vision and knowledge. A place that was well beyond any circumstantial understanding that any mere mortal could perceive, the Grand Construct was said to have been the creation of the very first Lords of Order, who had since then become one with the Order Field.

That which had many names, Order Force or Order Field were the most common. An energy said to rival the generations of wild power created by the counterpart, chaos. It was the answer in every meaning possible with the biggest being simple: where chaos reigned, then Order was weakened; Until the time of the great equality. The prediction made by many a sage was coming true, as the Lords had arrived, the equality was very soon.

--Within the Palace of Order--

Sir Yulic stood over the war-room table and slammed his fist down, how could they; the Lords of Order have been defeated by such pitiful commoners? Mere vagabond warriors who of the ragtag force of chaos were attempting to stop them from casting their judgment on an unruly world? It was from the depths of embarrassment! He was furious with the outcome of this entirety, he seemed to reject the whole idea of their defeat.

"It should not be possible! How can we, the Lords of Order be outclassed by these untrained cretins!" once again his fist slammed upon the table, shaking it with his anger.

Sir Yuin, who had also met defeat by the same stranger held a different view of the situation. He knew the warrior that he'd faced was skilled, not just but he was an outsider. As an outsider this meant they knew little to nothing about his power, despite being able to match the Order Force without any doubt; he was serving a different purpose.

"As you mentioned to us before this Sir Yulic, this stranger appears to be key in this entirety's outcome. Why he is here, as a wildcard it appears to be that he tries to protect their Messiah from us. In fact, my defeat came from his steadfast concentration on her." Sir Yuin dutifully pointed out something obvious.

Sir Yulic snorted at the facts that were being spouted.

"And to what does this help us Sir Yuin? So we know his reasoning and what does that do for us now? Knowing his reasoning does not give us a means by which to stop him from interfering." Sir Yulic spat venomously. His anger was very prevalent, especially towards the warrior who had defeated him.

What could his reasoning have been? Who defeated Sir Dage? Sir Yuin appeared to be ignoring the outrage of Yulic as it would help no one. His foolish antics were just going to stall them.

"Well the other four will return soon, I'd suggest getting over your temper Yulic. Your anger will not be tolerated by the rest, Dage and I are one thing, but you know our elders." the other four knights; each one older than the three who had failed. To Yuin their defeat was of no consequence.

Yulic went quiet for a moment, contemplating what was just said of course. That silence was all that was necessary of course, as Sir Dage began to awaken from his unconscious defeat. Things would become more clear as Dage explained his discovery to the others; his brothers-in-arms.

Sir Dage rubbed his head and removed his helmet, this Shadow was indeed a fiercesome opponent that kept up with him and exceeded his natural speed. All of this would be told at a later time since he had more important things to speak out.

"I..ugh...Sir Yuin, I have much to tell!" he said as he managed to drag himself and his tattered form from the ground. His clothing had already begun to repair itself long after the defeat, being within a realm saturated with the glorious Order Field allowed beings like himself and the other Order Lords to regenerate their attire without thought.

Sir Yuin looked up from his cup of tea, looking to the younger Dage with a small smile, the youngest of the Lords was also the most energetic and dutiful. It was an inspiring thing to see in upcoming youth who meant to do good by the Lords.

"What is it young knight? What have you to tell me?" Yuin asked while turning to him in the great chair.

Sir Dage knelt before him, on one knee sweeping his great cape back with his other arm while looking up at him. He was waved by Yuin idly, since there was no need for such formality, he was no longer a squire in training. Dage rose from his knee and then spoke up.

"I have discovered why we are unable to match our foes in combat." Dage's claim was a large one.

Yulic looked over to him, eyes studying the younger Lord intently. Had he discovered some sort of reason? He knew that it was a fluke in his battle with that miscreant. There was no way that he could have been defeated so easily!

"Then speak of it young knight, I would like to hear your intel of the situation." he seemed very intrigued by the claim.

"I have felt the shift in the Order Force, it is very simple as to why we cannot match our foes. Chaos has had the longer reign on Mobius and as we exist in the realm, we are slowly bringing things into balance. Since I felt stronger during my match near the end, the longer we are on Mobius; the stronger we will become." the analysis made sense in his mind.

Yulic was saying nothing and Yuin seemed to nod at the understanding. It was so simple that neither of them had really caught onto the aim of the reason why, there was nothing that complex about it. Yuin gave a small applause to Dage's observation, it would help them to appropriate their plans.

"Sir Dage, that observation clears up the mystery of why neither myself nor Yulic were able to stop our foe; the one who protects their Messiah." Sir Yuin's words were again, to the point and not pressing any kind of issue.

Yulic was at the same time satisfied by that answer, though continually insulted by his fellow Lord brushing off defeat, it was disgraceful no matter if there was a reason or not. Sir Yulic was going to set this straight once their forces were evened out once more, besides if they could put up this good a fight otherwise; victory was his the next time he would strike.

"Then we will see if this weak little soul's protector can guard her when next I strike." Sir Yulic seemed to find the idea of a female leader outrageous in this said case.

"Do not underestimate either their Messiah or her Guardian, for that would be foolish Sir Yulic." this was all Yuin said, prompting a glare from his comrade; not that he cared. Underestimating this female would indeed be a very foolish thing.

For this three of the Lords had been defeated by their enemies, but what of the four...would their seniors in combat and training surpass their failures? it would remain to be seen.

--Back on Angel Island, Master Emerald Shrine--

Knuckles had known something was off with the Master Emerald, the power was all there and the balance within still seemed stable, but what was it? He couldn't put his finger on it and tell what was wrong, there was something very off and it had seemed to be something of a focus that he usually had with it. After all being the guardian for all of his life it wasn't like he wasn't atuned to its wave length.

He couldn't put word or thought to it, something that was always there suddenly seemed to be gone and he couldn't put thought to it. It bothered him to the point that he couldn't just relax beside the ancient source of endless power, why couldn't he put his mind at ease? He was more than slightly troubled by what thoughts were on his mind. A whisper came to his hear, something was here?

'Guardian why do you feel unease? Your emerald is together.' the voice whispered, curiously.

"Who goes there?" Knuckles shot to attention and his fists clenched, looking for an intruder upon his island and yet there was nothing. Not one soul he could see or sense.

'Who I am is a friend, an old friend of the Master Emerald...what I want to know is what ails you?' the whisper spoke again.

Knuckles knew he'd distinctly heard it and he was not going crazy, no it just made him think he was lost or something was really wrong with the moment.

"What is missing from the Master Emerald? I know that there was something distinct and even though I cannot identify it, I know there was some other presence within that always brought me a peace." Knuckles had always felt a bond that surpassed the outward Guardian of the M.E. connection he'd had. That was universal but it never really brought him peace, there was always something soothing that he'd felt within the form of the mighty green emerald, he wasn't sure what it was that was on his mind.

The voice decided to give him a hint, it seemed that Knuckles had known much more than this voice gave him credit for.

'The feeling of calmness has been given breath again, that presence leads now the warriors of chaos against the Lords of Order. Will you aid or will you merely protect your emerald? The Lords would disturb you not given your place out of the connection with the world. The decision or decisions lay with you mighty Guardian.' the voice began to fade, it was almost time.

Knuckles looked around and tried to keep the voice around, what did it mean? He'd heard the words and understood most of it...but what did it all mean?

"What do mean voice? What are these Lords?" he questioned it outride as the fading voice spoke its last whisper.

'The Lords are the incarnate form of the energy that stands opposite of chaos, the ultimate power kept in check by an equivalent. Know that well guardian, the knowledge will aid you.' the voice then faded from mind, ear, and presence all together.

Knuckles looked frustrated by the fact the voice spoke in some kind of riddle, it wasn't beyond his comprehension persay, but it was annoying to have to consider something. Even if the decision was his to make, he had to protect the Master Emerald no matter what. But if the planet was in danger from this force then this duty would entail defeating them, he was considering that as well. What did all of this mean perhaps in all of it? The voice said that the Lords would not disturb him, but he could not betray his friendships: not to those who counted on him in a tight jam regardless of the situation. No he would help his friends, this would mean taking the Master Emerald with him. So be it.

"You will have to rest amongst the waves for a time Angel Island, forgive me." he said as he withdrew the mighty stone from its position at the shrine.

Shrinking it to a smaller size, Knuckles hid the master emerald on his person and then took off gliding. He would find the missing essence that he'd known...for some reason or another his mind was clouded over by the thoughts of his attempting to focus on it, it was indeed very strange to him; the whole thought and consideration. For the safety of Mobius and for his friends he'd made his decision, unknowing that he was being watched from the distance.

"Well then guardian it seems we will be at odds after all." the voice said as the being moved after him, to challenge him to combat mortal.

His steed now prancing over the form of the air, the Lord of Order patiently followed the Guardian towards land, for then he could challenge him to an honorable battle and defeat him for the father crystal. That which the Echidnas had coveted so long might finally return to its place with the Lords as opposed to the Guardians.

(End Chapter)

What does all of this mean? The unveiling of the fourth lord has a little twist to it.

I hope for all of this to start making more sense with the next chapter coming!

Till then I bid you adieu, Read and Review please!

-Quentix


	6. Chapter: Making Plans

A/N: Wow a full year since I've been updating this one? I am so sorry to all readers, life have been hectic! But that's no reason not to kick into gear; I'll have this going up, have no fear! I'll be writing on, this chapter should be interesting as this story goes on. Tikal falls into her role and her guardian Sesumi will be proving himself the loyal bodyguard, as more comes to unravel with the continuing story.

One more term to let you guys know ahead of time though.

Coronian Hidghog (No not misspelled XD, this is his breed) - The native breed of hedgehogs on the now destroyed planet of Coron. The breed is well known for absorbing energy from external sources, greater tolerance of exposure to forms of cosmic radiation, and the ability to absorb sunlight through their extremities.

Let's get this going!

(End A/N)

Chapter V: Making plans, Calling to the Chaos

As the discussion was followed closely by an agreement, Tails had gone to his communications room to try and get Sonic's attention, if he were at home or at least wearing the wristband communication that he'd gone through the trouble of creating with for him a few years ago. It seemed that at least it was being made use of in the time periods, usually as a means for the blue hedgehog just to call to him and say 'Hello'.

"Sonic, come in Sonic, are you there?" Tails looked at the screen and hoped that he would answer, he'd hoped that Sonic had been without any trouble; if it was anything like Tikal's problems, then he would be attacked by a Knight of this Order Force soon.

At first there was static on the line, leaving Tails at worried for a moment. This just before he finally heard something that gave him a glimmer of hope; Sonic was alright after all, he thought.

"…ails…come in, you there buddy?" the voice sounded very familiar to him.

"Sonic?"

"Tails hey! Been a while pal, I'm glad to hear from you, how's it been going?" Sonic's voice sounded off loud and clear.

Excited by the prospect of hearing Sonic after such a long while, he almost forgot to ask him to come in.

"Oh, Hey Sonic? Do you think you could stop by the Workshop? There is an important matter to speak of; I don't want to broadcast it." His voice was relaxed, but serious enough that Sonic caught the drift.

"Sure thing pal, be there in a sonic second." The words spoken true to the Blue blur's pace, as he kicked his speed up a notch and raced forward.

Taking a different route, he headed towards the Mystic Ruins; there was no reason why this wouldn't be a short run. His path was clear and Sonic hadn't foreseen the events that would be going down. It was just about time for the next Knight to make his appearance, though instead of attacking the hedgehog; he admired the speed.

Lifting his visor, Sir Kayce watched his opponent and decided to head him off before he reached the Mystic Ruins.

"This will not be as easy as I once thought, good." While his demeanor was generally calm, he could not help but be excited by the prospect of fighting one of the Mobians who thwarted Dr. Eggman on a regular basis.

Using the Order Force through his lance, he commanded a warp jump and headed for the Mystic Ruins; the forest clearing would be a great space to fight the hedgehog in.

-Back at Tails' Workshop-

The fact that Sonic was on the move made him feel better, this meant that Sonic hadn't come across these Lords of Order yet. If they were as powerful as Tikal informed him then there would be some problems for Sonic, despite his friend being more than capable as a combatant.

Hoping that he had something in his arsenal to help, Tails became engrossed in his search through old equipment. He had focused hard enough that nothing would deter him; he had to be prepared to help.

"I'll be ready Sonic, I promise…" the two-tailed genius had felt as if there was some kind of debt.

Though perhaps it was just in his mind, he decided that he would not fail to bring all he had to this trial that Mobius now faced. It reminded him of the trouble with Perfect Chaos, he hadn't been confident until he succeeded; however he'd grown since then and was not the same little boy.

The two-tailed genius went back to work of gathering his latest devices together, looking to the two experimental tail enhancements he'd created some time ago, it was time to put them to the test.

With his equipment gathered, Tails packed them away into the Tornado III and headed back to front of his newest plane, it was just a matter of tweaking the engine before Tails was sure that everything was perfect for their trip. This had to go smoothly or they could well fail.

As Tails prepped the craft for takeoff, this left Tikal some few quiet moments with her guardian. She had been unsure of how she felt about everything. It was sudden and she'd only just had a moment to think about it. What the stranger told her, how Sesumi had suddenly come into her life, and her feelings about leading Mobians in a battle? It was a lot to think about she found.

"Sesumi..?" she spoke his name softly, noting his still vigilant gaze towards the window.

His eyes turned to his charge once she'd spoken his name; the hidghog looked to the pretty echidna in all her grace and was at a loss for words. This was not how a guardian was to respond and he knew it, but she was just special and he knew it. "Yes Tikal?"

"I just wanted to know, what are your thoughts on all of this? I mean…becoming my guardian, having to protect me from those strange knights." She seemed troubled by it.

He understood her feelings on the matter and gave her a shoulder a soft pat.

"I look at it rather simply Tikal, my past has no bearings on my current job or my future by your side. I am to protect you and I will make good on that." He smile was soft but confident, since arriving he had fought with two of these lords and managed to turn them away.

When it came to her, the thought of these Lords trying to extinguish her life troubled him greatly. He'd known her for only a few days and that was all that he needed to know a few things. She was one of the sweetest females he'd ever met, who could ever think of hurting her? He would do whatever destiny that was given to him.

His conviction made her smile; her arms curled around him and gave him a light squeeze. As she felt drawn to his protective nature, she felt safe and knew that she could complete this. Once she was done…was she to leave once again? The thought was not lost on her, she had done something similar to this before.

"That kind of conviction, that's something that I could use right now...as I am not certain where I stand on this." it was the first time that Tikal felt that she was being honest with herself.

Since being attacked almost immediately after her emerging from the Master Emerald, it left the echidna very little time to consider where she stood with this battle ahead. She understood what she was told, the reasoning behind it, even though it seemed flawed in her mind. Was she really the only one who could do it? It was more now that she felt obligated to this strange cause in a way, having been revived by the mysterious force at work; it seemed that the chance to feel, to breathe, everything was overwhelming her. How could she face it all at once and her decision as well?

She felt all sorts of questions wanting to pop up before her, how could she handle something so much larger than herself? As her own self-doubts began to emerge, she felt them silenced by a reassuring hand resting softly upon her shoulder. Her eyes softened once she realized it was just Sesumi, at the very least his simple understanding of his duties did give her some sense of peace.

"I may not understand why you've been brought here Lady Tikal, but look at it this way, you were chosen for this job because you are at peace with the Chaos Force, it resonates with you and is still at peace. You bring a different understanding to a power that is vied for by many a common person, to be used as a power source. It is that peace I sense within your heart and your very being that makes you so special." his words were neutral in tone, as he knew that he could not afford anything more than that. He was her guardian, this was something that he had to root in as square one.

While Sesumi was attempting to drill this latest thought into his mind, Tikal smiled at his words, even though they were still strangers, he was oddly comforting to be around. She knew that he would protect her, as through his actions prior to their arrival at Tails' Workshop had proven; he had no qualms about her protection. Her guardian would do his job well and she would be grateful for it.

There was something more, but neither was going to chase a pipe dream now, with so little peace. How could it be slated? Only the fates knew just what path would be traversed. Whether the path would be smooth or bumpy, she could not afford to give up and she would not; with the fate of Mobius riding on this.

_'Chaos Soul...that is what I am...' _she whispered words that she vaguely remembered, as if from a dream. She was the heart of the chance for the chaos force to continue its reign over Mobius. What would happen if they lost? If she was unable to fulfill her role...then what?

The wheels would reverse, it would be the destruction of those forces considered 'not orderly' in this world, she could entirely understand that focus. It frightened her to think that so many things would be destroyed for sake of something as simple as Order. But she could feel it in her center, this was unacceptable. Tikal had a lot riding on her and she'd need to give her all, she could not afford to not do so...it wouldn't happen, this world would continue to exist and so would the people.

"Come quickly, Sonic the Hedgehog...Mobius once more needs your help." her words would drift upon the air, unknowing that right now; the Azure hero was facing off with the opposition to their gathering. Her prayers were with the forces they had to gather, first to start with the core members before reaching out for aid from allies of those with the side of Chaos.

-With Sonic the Hedgehog-

"Just how fast are you?" he said as he was amused by Sonic's swiftness, just how fast could he go? While this was not enough to defeat him, but it intrigued him to find that there was such a being on the planet.

Sonic's response to this question was a smirk, as he evaded another strange blast of energy, he was trying to figure this guy out.

"Fast enough you might say, just about as fast as you can imagine." he was sure of that much, watching the figure raise his weapon; from his armor to his blade, this guy was certainly out of place. With one thing clear, this guy wasn't letting him go without a fight; that was just fine with him.

Sonic had been without any real competition since the last time he'd put a stop to Eggman's usual plan to take over the world, it was always a new rush to see just what the Evil Doctor had in mind.

Sonic's wayward thoughts were drawn back to his opponent who disappeared from sight in an instant, it wasn't speed...Sonic would've seen any movement even if he couldn't track it completely. But where...was-!

Immediately throwing himself into a tumble, Sonic avoided a swipe of the powerful lance in the Order Lord's grasp, something that would have easily bisected him had it hit. This guy wasn't playing around was he? It was a bit more direct than he was used to, this just meant he couldn't play around half as much.

"Not bad hedgehog, you move swiftly and you have the instincts of a warrior. But you'll need more than evasion!" taking up the attack, Sir Kayce's lance was once again thrust at Sonic, this time in repetition; each push of his forearm sent the weapon forward with frightening accuracy.

It was enough force that even though the Blue blur dodged it with ease, he could feel the pressure of the missed strike. These blows packed a killing intent, but in the face of danger Sonic merely grinned and moved on the offensive. Dodging another thrust of the lance, the azure hero gracefully leapt onto the lance and raced along its length in a millisecond; using his speed to put force behind the kick aimed for his opponent's face.

The kick found its mark on Kayce's chin and before his body had time to react to the blow, Sonic placed the flat of his other foot against the features of the Order Lord's mouth and nose. Using this as a method of retreat, the hedgehog landed flawlessly and eyed his opponent to see the result of the two kicks. To his amazement he found the strange knight looking at him with a soft smirk, despite the bleeding nose and the traces of blood across the stranger's face.

Sir Kayce let off a deep laugh, almost a guffaw of sorts as he realigned the out of place nose with his free hand, and wiped the traces of blood away from his face with his glove. This would be a most entertaining fight indeed, he'd found an opponent who could adapt to his use of Order Step and react at a moment's notice.

"Impressive! You will prove to be an extraordinary opponent, come hero, let's have a great fight!" with enthusiasm present Kayce decided to dedicate himself to this effort, with the prospect of such an opponent it would not be a wasted opportunity.

The battlegrounds of the field exploded in light, as Kayce blazed the field with blasts of Order Force aimed at Sonic. His methods something akin to a magic knight, wielding the lance with an expert hand while mixing in numerous blasts of varying shapes and sizes; he found to his delight that the hedgehog nimbly evaded each of the shots. The thrill made his veins feel on fire, he was alive for the first time in several centuries and he was going to enjoy it.

From the blue hedgehog's eyes, he found himself kept on his feet and then some by this weird knight. The blasts were numerous and almost had no rest in between, he'd ended up grazed along his side by the lance's sharp edge while leaping up to dodge two low energy blasts. It hadn't been a real blow, but he felt the lance's edge and knew that if it found its mark he'd be finished. The sudden increase in blasts and their energy forms was really starting to bug him, did this guy have a limit to it? He wasn't letting up for an instant, everyone had a limit to how much they could launch; but Sonic was genuinely surprised that the knight not only kept it up, but seemed to increase his amount of shots.

This didn't shake Sonic's will to defeat this guy, he started finding the pattern in his shots, it was something like: thrust, blast, blast and then slash, thrust, blast, thrust, thrust, slash, blast, blast. Whatever style or attack style he trained in, it was pretty effective for keeping opponents on the defensive, though seeing the weakness in the form Sonic waited patiently. The instant that Sir Kayce knelt low to thrust the bladed edge at Sonic, he struck with great speed; a mid-range homing attack that found its mark in the armored knight's side.

Not wishing to miss another chance, Sonic landed and immediately made use of his spin dash, and barreled into his chest region with the blow. Slamming both of his heels into the knight's face following the edge of the roll. The moment pushing Sir Kayce's body into a jagged rock before Sonic kicked off of his body's center in order to force him into the surface of the stone with greater force.

Somersaulting a few times after the latest blow delivered to the Lord of Order's body, Sonic panted lightly in an effort to catch his breath. The constant dodging and then quick chaining of those moves left him winded for a moment. He had to have left some kind of damage through that right?

The pain spread through Sir Kayce's body like liquid fire, radiating from his mid-back and spreading along the length of his spine. Setting his pain receptors on for the first time in ages, the knight slowly rose to his knees and gave Sonic a pained grin; how long had it been since someone had bested him? It had been far too long outside of sparring with his fellow Lords of Order that he had been soundly thrashed.

"I salute you Sir Hedgehog, this...was a thoroughly enjoyable first bout. I have been defeated and I will take my leave of you now, go in peace. But understand that I will return." the thrashed form of the knight faded away with a soft orange hued light, before the azure hero could ask him anything or respond.

This left Sonic in a moment of some wonder, just who was that guy? He managed to beat him, though not without some serious trouble and this was something that he had to take into account.

"...Time to go to see Tails." the blue hedgehog knew that his young friend would probably have some of the answers to what he'd just experienced, he was sure that was why he was contacted.

The timing had been too close, so he was sure that it was connected. Without another moment to lose Sonic took off, bearing a few scratches from his past encounter; he would be sure to keep the strange knight in mind. Almost sure that he'd run into others of the same kind or similar nature down the road, while racing towards the Mystic Ruins center where Tails' lived, his mind wandered. He had quite a few questions that he was hoping Tails would either have the answer to.

-At Tails' Workshop-

After about 4 minutes of a straight dash, Sonic found himself at the front door of the workshop, eager to both rest and find out what was going on he knocked on the door. Awaiting the familiar sight of the orange furred fox that was often in the middle of one thing or another when answering.

Much to his surprise, Tails answered the door not only composed, but for a change looking rather serious. The blue hedgehog was greeted briefly, but found himself ushered in quietly by his friend. Wondering just what it was that could've made things such a different tone, his eyes soon found that answer. When he found himself staring at the sight of an echidna that he hadn't known personally, but had the opportunity to glance into her past. A memory grabbed him for a moment.

The thoughts of being in the past, during the incident with Perfect Chaos, the small glowing orb that guided him through the event. The echidna girl he remembered at the shrine, the fallen chao around it, and the violent water god, Chaos on his rampage. Was this really her? It all seemed to be confirmed when he heard that soft voice speak in a tone of familiarity.

"Greetings, Sonic the hedgehog. I'm glad that you came on such short notice, you seem winded...and you have some wounds, are you alright?" the tone of concern snapped Sonic back to reality.

This, without a doubt was the girl he'd seen in his mind. He had vaguely remembered her name, what she was called by an elderly echidna who was painted up; no doubt the leader. It was something that drew Sonic to respond the way he did next.

"I'm alright...but I just have to ask, who..are you? I've heard your voice before, I feel like we met." his voice was caught off with uncertainty.

It was but a moment later thatSonic's realization brought a small smile to Tikal's face as she nodded, confirming his words.

"In one way, we did meet before Sonic. When Chaos had lost his path and absorbed the dark side of the chaos emeralds, I was the force that guided you then. To help you bring Chaos back to peace, my name is Tikal. I am the voice that took you into the past and showed you the events then, that was...my life in the past." the memory of that day and time still haunting to her.

But as she moved beyond that in an instant, they had little time to reminisce of another dark time, especially no that one was upon them and changing the way of the future. It was not a bright future that Mobius would have should the forces of those wielding Chaos fail. She gestured to the couch and moved to sit in a chair opposite the cushion. She was offering him the more comfortable seating available so he could rest while they discussed this.

The words coming from her were not what he expected, Sonic wasn't sure just how to take this story in thought. Well from what he could gather, this was coming down to some great battle, Tikal herself was a major key component; something called a 'Chaos Soul', which was more or less the heart of the conflict. There was an 'Order Soul' who quit his position and left this group called the Lords of Order without a guide. Yet according to Tikal and the fight he'd had earlier, this was all tied together, mostly definitely was it just as she was telling it.

"Alright, so if I understand this correctly it seems like we have a lot more allies to gather before we're organized to take care of them; these Lords of Order as they call themselves." Sonic was pretty sure that he was getting this.

Tikal nodded towards his outcome, he was quite correct with his understanding. Though it didn't make it any easier for Tikal to accept herself, she shut her eyes a moment and seemed to be struggling to grasp it. Why did they have to fight? Why couldn't they just discuss it? Was there a chance at some other solution? It was Sesumi's hand on her shoulder that caused her eyes to open softly.

Finally deciding to speak up to Sonic, Sesumi would say just a few words to confirm and of course say what he believed the next course of action that was necessary.

"And so as you see it Sonic, even if we were not to fight them...we still have to get them to acknowledge that we will not stand aside. As I can assure you, these beings will act on their instinct to quell anything that is not 'orderly' merely if it suits them right." the Coronian found that his words covered the bases well.

It was applying somewhat to the more peaceful means that Tikal wished, but still making one thing absolutely sure: the fact that they still had to do something and that conflict appeared to be inevitable. What they needed now was some kind of a solution to the gathering of their forces, such as who to call out to first? They needed some down time for rest, as Tikal looked out at the setting sun; she wondered where they might rest. However, the voice of the two-tailed genius chimed in, as he happily offered the three of his guests to spend the night at his workshop.

It was quite fitting, Tikal thanked him with a smile and assured him that they would merely need a room or place to rest. Sonic often used the guest room, but juncture in their meeting; he felt it only right to ensure that Tikal got the cushy bed while he took the couch tonight. It was comfy enough to the blue hedgehog, since he'd rested often while watching T.V. and fell to rest on it, so it wouldn't be hard to do so once again.

"Thank you very much, Tails and Sonic for your kindness. I am a little tired, I'll turn in early for the evening." she said as she rose from the chair, though watching Sesumi move with her, she blushed a moment. Almost forgetting of his aim to protect her no matter what.

Though before someone could say something, his arms casually moved from their position crossed over his chest, and soon rested at either of his sides. He was going to speak up before anything came from either of the two.

"I will be protecting her no matter what, but I will not invade her privacy. I am charged with defending Lady Tikal by my fate...I will respect her right to whatever she may ask of me, short of protecting her." he was going to be reasonable about this here.

Having no major intentions to push things in, Sonic and Tails gave a nod of understanding. Both hedgehog and fox seemed to grasp what he was getting at, for Sonic it was more of something he knew they couldn't chance. Having faced one of these knights today and having narrowly defeated him in combat, it was a regular fact that if she were attacked then it would be without mercy. He could understand this guy wanting to protect her so closely, it was nice how he attempted to give her some space; to be clear with herself or anything personal she may have needed.

For the female echidna, now it was going to be a matter of growing into her role as they gathered all of the others who were to be apart of the forces of Chaos. They would have to win...it was not an option for them to lose this, she considered that thought and it made her quiver. So many things were against them as far as odds, yet she had no clear choice, as she knew that she could not quit without serious repercussions.

_'Persevere through my difficulties.' _this was something that her father attempted to push on her, the ancient walkers rest his spirit; perhaps she would be able to harness it as a method of keeping her nerves calmer. As Tikal had never been used to such strains; both physical and mental it put a lot more on her shoulders to face off with. She needed sleep and after taking a few moments of downtime in the bathroom, Tikal soon lay on the soft bed, gazing softly at Sesumi's back as he watched out the window. Promising her the one thing, that he'd get some sleep on the floor nearby the bed, it was something well worth keeping her comfortable.

"Sweet Dreams to you, Lady Tikal rest well..." Sesumi's words were some of the last things she'd remember hearing as the darkness of rest took her away.

As she fell to the graces of a restful sleep, Sesumi continued to gaze out into the setting sun's fading light, almost if he saw the future's outcome and knew of the upcoming battles. The truth was, no one knew the future well and could only do one thing to make it count strong: test their faith and believe with what they knew to be strong. He would be Tikal's rock of sanity, to keep her from drifting too far with emotions loose, her guardian from the powerful terror of the Lords of Order; he would be whatever she needed him to be.

Nothing now was more important to the Hidghog other than her continued faith in herself, to follow this cause and see it completed once and for all...since the conflict would happen; as long as she was strong he certain they could pull through. The Chaos Forces be preserved...they might just have it in them to stop the Order Force. Only time would see, who was more deserving?

(End Chapter)

Well I hope you enjoy this next chapter, as I am getting my skill back for the writing; I'd say you can expect longer chapters down the line!

Till the next time, when we engage the first actions of the Chaos Forces: Gathering their allies and other members, how will they proceed? Find out next time!

I bid you adieu

-Quentix


	7. Chapter: Vigilant Soul of Chaos

A/N: Been a while hasn't it? The trials of many a trade soon catch up, but I am back with renewed vigor. Let's get this tale underway, as we pick up and reveal just where this may go next. As this new chapter brings with it the new members that they gather; the Lords of Order will not stand down and in fact know the targets better than Tikal herself does. What will this mean? Stay tuned!

(End A/N)  
-

Chapter VI: Vigilant Soul of Chaos

The game plan was still not entirely clear, but Tikal was adamant about their gathering their style of 'knights of chaos', though the original scroll had not put it that far, she was pretty sure that it was akin to that. They would have those who fought wielding chaos or had strong enough wills to challenge the Lords of Order, at least they would have what they needed to defeat them. But how she would keep all of their forces concentrated would take leadership; as determined as she was to see that Mobius would remain free to make their own decisions, the fact remained that managed to elude her. For a moment the tribal priestess considered her standing and what she would do, it seemed almost infintesimal to her by chances. Shaking her head gently, she realized that she could not afford to lose herself to despair.

"Lady Tikal, are you alright?" the word coming from her mostly silent-sentry who stood guard on the hillside, as it was the echidna princess's wish. Though reluctant for the purpose of safety, the Hidghog heeded her wish and held his powers high, he promised himself that he would never fail her. This was not a space that he trusted, even if it wasn't too far from Tail's house.

The conversation gave way to Tikal's emotion, her inability to trust in whether she may have been capable of it.

"I'm fine, Sesumi, thank you. It's just..."

"What is it? Is there something that I can help you wish?"

"Well...I..I don't know..."

"Lady Tikal, have no fear when you speak with me."

"It's not that at all, Sesumi." she said as she finally turned to face him, within her eyes something was hidden there. A presence that was unclear even to the discerning Hidghog.

Tikal walked to him for what seemed like a great distance, over that hill while the fading light of the setting sun generated a subtle haloing effect on her dreads, it made her hair accentuate a kind of cuteness effect. It was enough that it took the bodyguard aback and left him staring at her softly; with a gentle flush in his cheeks. He was not yet aware that she had crossed the distance and was now glancing at him curiously.

Breaking the initial stare by shaking his head, the look in his eye changed as he became serious once again. She had an astounding effect on him and he knew it; it was a liberal weakness...he seemed to like that fact. Still he cast his own thoughts aside while she appeared comforted by his choice of actions. There was not much to wait, once she stepped to his side and looked him in the eyes, she straightened up, took a deep breath and came out with it.

"I don't know if I can do it, my heart is in it, but I don't know..I-I feel shaky inside. My will feels in tatters and I don't know if I can handle it and so I need help. Support is what I need..." she admitted it, as if speaking with him made things clearer somehow. It was enough that she was blushing and looking away after, was she asking him indirectly for his support?

"I am your pillar if you need me, the guardian does whatever is required." his words came softly, they were not as the stone that they had been when they first met. He was okay with that fact, even though it weakened his stance with the others. One such person would be Knuckles, that would be one to tell and who would know. He wanted to believe it might be an issue, they could not afford to infighting amongst themselves.

A hand on his shoulder shattered the concentration he'd had, his eyes directed themselves to the hopeful and near-anxious gaze that she held. She trusted his words and took his hands in her own, dissuading him from the comfort zone he created as a guardian. She was breaking all of his rules, the once professional warrior and sole survivor of Coron had been reduced to this? He was not sure what this meant for him, only that now new rules would have to be made.

"Then realize its okay to feel, Sesumi." her words were directed at what she saw straight through: his guise. With a gentle stroke of his cheek, she brought her guardian's eye to level off with her own and held his face steady while she saw the turning gears as he tried to think.

All of his mental facilities churned to a stop once he was trying to conceive what he was experiencing. Something soft had met his lips, how like a satin cloth that met with warm honey melon with the faintest hint of a lemon-nectarine blend. That was the wonderful twist to the sensation he felt, his eyes opened wide, carefully absorbing the visual experience that was the cute blushing look on her face, as he found her breathtaking. It was the way that his mind found nothing else that mattered; only glowing hue that surrounded the soft orange of her face, decorated by the soft pink blush. The soft lines of her cheeks, the pretty curve of her hair as it fell against his golden fur. It was as if living in a portrait and was something that consumed him, it left him helpless before her presence.

It was a moment of purity that danced close with a lavish blend, something that stole the breath from her very lungs. Tikal could hardly believe what she'd just done! Yet here she stood with her left palm pressed to his cheek and the other hand gently around his shoulder. Time slowed down to a dramatic crawl and for all it was worth, the Echidna princess embraced it. She stumbled to the side, only to find that Sesumi's hands were around her waist and holding her steady. When had he done that?

It was somewhere between three and five minutes when her guardian drew back from his daze, long enough to take a breath while her eyes remained closed. Her breath was warm against the side of his cheek and neck, this was where the priestess instinctively laid her face.

There was nothing but a sharp silence between them, something that had sparked with no need of words. Sesumi was still in a daze, though he knew he was holding Tikal close and rocking her ever so slightly, here with her face against his shoulder, his mind focused on one aspect of it only: It felt **right.** Above all else the Hidghog held no complaints about his duty and just why this was supposed to be wrong?

"I-I'm..sorry Sesumi..." the tribal princess felt it was her need to apologize for her actions.

"No...I mean..its okay, Lady Tikal." his response came with a little hesitation, but seemed to be what he conveyed.

The two shared a single glance, but no words followed suit, even though they had come out here to speak, their gazes spoke of the desperately important fact that needed to be shared: Tikal now had her pillar and she knew it.

The two shared a moment while under the careful observation of another, who adjusted his visor and with an almost sad expression on his face drew it down. While he faded into thin air, the thought on his mind reflected his heart: regret. A peace they could not keep, something that he could not allow as it was his turn to assail them. He would do so unyielding to their own wishes, it was all for the sake of order.

His compatriot Sir Yulic and himself had failed once, even if just to gain an understanding of why. It was hard not to consider that defeating the guardian would not take great skill or at least a clever approach. Kidnapping would not work, given they both spent so much time together, he would stoop no further into that association he decided.

A straight out attack with the plan to spend more time physical would be the direction he chose. If their powers grew stronger, it was only a matter of time before he felt that he could overpower him.

'_Drawing the battle out...how odd a strategy'_ though it seemed Sir Yuin paid that no mind, there was nothing normal about the opponent. He was an alien to this world, with powers that rivaled their own from what he could tell. The skirmishes were very brief, it was a testament to the skill that this 'Sesumi' wielded, it was very formidable.

The time to attack was not present, he knew how close they were to other warriors; those who would bring more trouble to him. This attempt was to be refined, a practiced blow in a deceive blow for the forces of order. It was why Sir Yuin had come this far, so that he could tilt the balance and so that none of the other knights needed to get involved in this. The faster it ended ten the better that it would be for the world of Mobius; the cycle of Order would return.

-back in Tails' Workshop-

While awaiting the return of Tikal and Sesumi from their walk, the twin tailed fox was busy making the final adjustments to his newest device. While it was still experimental he did feel it had a chance, it would detect anomalies that were unique in their trace signals. The way that both Sonic and Sesumi spoke of their attackers using a strange source of power, Tails had gone straight to work on making a small detection device that could pick up sources of power related to chaos. It would also trace mystical fields of energy, at least until the yellow furred genius could get the finite fluctuations of power nailed, it was the best that he could do. He could not help but wonder where all of this was going, still even with the amount of adventures he'd attended this event seemed bigger. This was supposed to be some kind of balancing battle over the future of the Chaos Force and it was still hard to believe that Tikal was at the center of it all. She was going to bring them leadership and resolve this the way it had to end; in some kind of peace.

"Hey, Earth to Tails, you gonna get the door?" the voice of his best friend lazily called to him from the couch, idly flipping through some channels as the blue blur was bored. Who was coming to his little bro's house so late in the day? He hadn't put a name to the face at the door and hadn't recognized who it was with the glaring light behind him.

"Knuckles! What are you doing here? Please come in!" the two-tailed fox was excited to see the guardian echidna at the door, he ushered him in and stepped back from the door frame.

"Good to see you Tails and thanks." he offered a light nod of respect to the younger fox, noticing the azure hero in his relaxed position on the couch, he offered him a wave. "Nice to see you Sonic, its been a while."

While this was true the surprisingly civil nature from his usual bull-headed compatriot did throw him off a little bit. Sonic wondered if something bad had happened to Angel Island.

"Good to see you too, Knuckles. Is anything wrong? Did something happen to the Master Emerald?" the hedgehog's feet moved from the top of the small coffee table in front of the TV as he sat up. Fearing for the worst if he'd come to seek help.

Raising a hand to the question, the Red guardian promptly shook his head, still showing a calmness that was uniquely present. He seemed to be very determined about his presence here. "I've come to help you guys and protect the Chaos Soul, Tikal. I've got the Master Emerald present so I'll be doing a double duty."

Tails blinked lightly, when did Knuckles find out? He hadn't time to contact him just yet, since he wanted to be sure that everyone else was aware, he hadn't wished to worry the M.E. Guardian with this extra matter until tomorrow.

"Well we appreciate the help, Knuckles. It's great to know we can count on you." the mechanical genius answered him and attempted to get past it for the moment, the fact that Knuckles brought the great emerald with him meant that this was even more serious than they'd thought.

After a few minutes of questions being asked, Tails and Sonic were both made privy to a cliff-notes version of the mysterious voice sharing with Knuckles that his help was needed and that an even greater source must be protected. Sonic of course had his own two thoughts about it, those being that Knuckles needed persuading and 'protecting' was synonymous with 'help' for him. It was enough to make him chuckle within, either way with Big Red helping them out they were bound to win this.

Once Knuckles had gotten settled on the makeshift bed in the hangar end of his workshop, Tails returned to his device. He'd told the guardian that Tikal had gone out with her bodyguard named 'Sesumi', it was of course nothing he wanted to check too much into. He imagined Knuckles would want to either claim the duties or assist her even further. His friend was so simple at times and other moments it seemed he was unreadable like one of those sphinx in legends.

"Alright! finally got this thing tuned, now I need to make sure that I have this working correctly." Miles shifted the device on and looked to the radar screen, it had a digital readout and at present read nothing.

Frowning lightly at there being no reading yet, he just imagined that it needed a few minutes, sometimes his devices did require a little time to boot up. It wasn't until a sudden blip appeared on his screen, with a measurement that just kept rising...what kind of field was this? These numbers while not really calculable were close to a chaos emerald's reading.

"What's this..?" he tilted his head a moment, before it finally clicked.

The reading was there, it was a strange source that giving off high energy readings, something that was in the distance, he knew full well that whatever was happening had to be happening close by. The distance was only about 20 kilometers from here.

"Knuckles, Sonic! Let's get going, Someone's in trouble!" the hasty words were treated real.

"About time, I was getting bored little bro!" Sonic shot up from his seat and raced outside, stopping once he cleared the door and the steps.

"Yeah let's get rollin', lead the way Tails." Knuckles had followed the yellow vulpine out the doorway.

Tails had pressed a button on the inside of the house while he took to the air, flipping his tails around rapidly as he boosted his jump from the staircase into the air; following the direction of the energy reading. Hopefully they wouldn't be too late arriving, he knew what it was like for them to arrive too late.

-With Tikal and Sesumi-

As an array of lights illuminated the hill beamed in sunset, the almost serene scene was sent into disarray as orange luminous blasts filled the air. The remnants of missed bolts of the Order Force hitting the ground where the swift moving Sesumi had been moments before. While the Hidghog was nowhere near as fast as someone like Sonic, he was light on his feet and prepared for dodging the impressively aimed shots. His golden fur glowing with the effort he put into use of evading another large bolt released from the Order Lord's lance.

"Not bad!" was all that Yuin had responded while thrusting the lance into the earth and sending three tracking shockwaves through the ground towards the bodyguard. He kept him at a distance and remained on the move, after yanking his polearm from the ground, now holding it horizontally in front of him as he feigned retreat.

Sesumi took to the air with another leap, trying to close the ground between them, as he wished not to reveal any of his skills to them just yet. He was simply empowering himself with the raw source from the large choker, gripping it tighter as he moved in a zig-zag pattern and broke his way forward, gathering the power of Coron in his right hand; he would have to proceed down this path.

_'A little closer and this might...'  
_

His thoughts were cut short as Yuin disappeared from, knowing that he could not trust anything, he shut his eyes and waited for that tingling feeling...he made a leap of faith and did the first thing his body felt to do _'Duck!'_ the maneuver had him narrowly ducking a blade that ripped over his scalp, he could feel the lance's heat. Without opening his eyes, he thrust his knuckles forward and found them striking the armor of his enemy.

Gritting his teeth in surprise at the surge of energy that ripped through his lower hip, Yuin teleported away from the nimble guardian and knelt for a moment. What was that?! Something that put so much force into a simple punch? Yuin made sure he was a significant amount of distance away from him by now.

"There's more where that came from." these were the only words that the Hidghog had spoken, he was already on the move again.

The ground between the two seemed to shrink at the sudden agility gain granted to the bodyguard of the Chaos Soul. The Order Lord was not expecting his gain in strength to be so significant and to be truthful, he was completely unprepared to face him at such levels of strength. But would he flee again? No...he would not be dishonored by fleeing back to the safety of the Order Fortress, this would be his battle to win this time! He did not care about the suddenness of some mere mortal's strength. Yuin's lance suddenly split at the head of the lance, transforming somewhat as he felt pressured by this foe. The first Order Lord to tap into the most sacred of energy forms, as the orange light beamed around him seemed to grow in intensity, the expression on his face showed his strain and of course, a small smirk. It was enough to stop Sesumi where he stood, from the sheer force of the small pillar of light that now surged around Sir Yuin.

"That...is a good look, Bodyguard. You've pushed me further than I wanted to go, I can't believe that a mere mortal is worth this." the enhanced state of combat, the enhancing powers of his initial increase seemed to be somewhat substantial, an unnamed form of boosted power. He planned to pay Sesumi back for all of the humiliation he'd suffered.

For but a single moment of passing time there was a eerie silence as Yuin soundlessly stepped towards Sesumi. The first blow came with a raging fire that burned within the bodyguard's stomach, the powerful knight had given him only the slightest gesture and he noticed the amount of pain that he felt. Throwing the alien bodyguard into the air, the knight darted to the air at great speeds, stopping only when he appeared above Sesumi's rising body. While his body arched around for a twisting kick to the side of his body, his foot his nothing but air.

Down below Sonic landed with Sesumi resting against his shoulder. "Hey protector, you alright?" he was calling him what he knew him to be, since he hadn't gotten his name just yet.

"Many thanks, Sonic. I fear I have bitten off more than I can chew, as you mobians say." a light joke rising from his lips as he twisted his neck and popped a kinking joint before he stood up tall.

It had been a while since he was hit so hard, it caught him off guard and made him realize just how serious he would have to take this battle. That was just fine with him, now that he noticed they had a bit more help on their side, it was a matter of taking Yuin down quickly. Something inside told him that and already, his mind had began to consider the motions by which this was possible.

"Ah...the famous hedgehog, the guardian of the master control, and you the genius fox. We know of you all." the knight said very vaguely, leaving the three of them to focus on him. Still he was not intimidated by the numbers, he had entered his empowered phase and he did not see them defeating him. Perhaps this arrogance would prove to be his downfall, he hadn't considered that at all.

Knuckles was the first to step up, he had been aching for some battle and this fellow looked to be a tough customer. It was clear to say that he could sense the powerful aura radiating off of the knight's physical form. He wasn't that far off from the guardian echidna who challenged him despite the great force he sensed. It would be enough to say that he intended to put a stop to him: power and all.

"Alright pal, let' see what you got." the mighty echidna stepped up to meet his opponents, with a heavy red aura burned around his body, as Knuckles began to fill with the battle vigor that he knew was coming, a strong enough excitement that only his discipline held together. The very strength of the fire that often drove him into countless conflicts against a full cast of opponents.

He was not about to let his friends down here right now, this time they would put this guy down together. He was very sure that it'd be a combined effort and for now he was going to test the mettle of this Lord of Order. Without another moment of thought, he pressed forward into his attack with great haste.

While Sir Yuin met the powerful aura-empowered knuckles with the side of his lance, feeling the sparks ignite as the pass was completed. Turning without hesitation, the Lord's polearm was yanked down in a mighty swing towards the side of the turning guardian. Knuckles blocked the attack with the backside of both clenched fists. Meeting the tremendous force with his unparalleled might and managing to hold it steady. For that moment the two were in a clear deadlock, that was until Yuin felt a powerful blow hit him in his upper back, something that forced him into a tumble forward.

As Yuin recovered from whatever hit him, he had only a few seconds to narrowly block a coron-charged set of knuckles from the quickly recovered Sesumi, who put him on a fast defense. The momentary set back was again met by the talented knight, he blocked several trade blows with his spear and batted the energy charged fists from his epicenter, holding the lance with a double-handed grip to increase its maneuverability. Once again the two met in a violent flash of energy, at the close range it was enough to send them apart from one another.

"You've improved, though it seems we're interrupted this time." he said with a small smile, though he noticed as Knuckles and Sonic joined in the attack.

Stepping from them, despite the empowered state he decided it best to retreat, without another moment to wait he bowed his shoulder and teleported from the battle site. A hasty retreat while he considered the kind of darkness that would come from this, he was not willing to let it pass without any kind of uses. He was a quick study in what was effective and when next they would meet, he would pummel them with his empowered state after he'd realized its effectiveness against them.

After he retreated, Sesumi was free to breathe a sigh of relief upon coming to the brief end of the battle. The fact that things remained so difficult was only a sign of things to come, he knew full well that he'd need to be better prepared. His mental focus was off for a single instant and it cost him the edge he'd briefly had in battle at the start. Underestimating one's foe was not to be done: it was one of the Coronian laws of combat ingrained in his mind.

"Thank you for the quick rescue, Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails. Though if I'd watched my step a little more carefully it would not have been necessary." He sighed at the fact that he was momentarily inept at battle.

"Hey man, no problem. But don't think like that, we all have our bad days." the Blue blur patted his shoulder reassuringly. He didn't need to get down on himself for this very reason, it was a surprise and in battles they were prone to happen.

"We're dealing with a tough customers, don't blame yourself fella." Knuckles gave him a slight nod to the skill he'd seen before turning back to look at Tails.

For a moment the technical genius was busy typing away on his small radar device and its keyboard. There was a moment that followed it was a series of beeps before he looked up with a look of question across his face.

"Guys, someone's coming, he's got a big source of chaos energy." he wasn't sure who it was by the reading, but he couldn't exactly place just what it was. Nor just how it was moving and the pace that it picked upon.

As Tikal emerged from hiding she was quick to move to Sesumi's side, standing behind him reflexively. He had requested that she take refuge behind him for safety sake and it was too something she enjoyed. Being close to someone that she cared about. There was no better reason to do so if it allowed her to view whoever was approaching them now. The power was chaos, something she could feel in the air with no assistance. Would this person be coming to ally with them? It was her greatest hope at the moment, to have them avoid trouble and to gain another ally.

As the figure emerged from the bushes in a blur, landing in the darkness of the sun that finally set, the figure rose slowly and looked at the group calmly...someone had arrived.

(End Chapter)

Leaving it on such a quiet note, I cannot help but wonder if it can be considered a cliff hanger or not ^^, well I had fun writing this chapter! And worry not I have found a groove writing and I intend to turn this into a really steady flow of pages. It will definitely update more than it has been in past!

Till the next update, see ya!


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